Beneath the Surface

by The Celestial Dragon

All she had wanted was to find someone, anyone, who she could connect with. Someone who wouldn't betray her, that looked beyond the surface to the soul that lay beneath. When she found the secret pool, she hardly expected anything to happen. She especially didn't expect the Rampaging God to appear before her either. Takeru x Oc

18. The Rescue

Show of hands, who wasn't expecting that kind of ending last chapter? Oh the twists and turns of a story told...also an apology for not updating it on scedule. Had a tough day, and decided to take a break. Hey, even I need to stop! XD

A thanks to LilweenGalatrass for being my beta reader and friend through all of my derping and writing!

And thank you all for getting my story to over 2k views! Love you all!
On with the show!

---

Have you ever had a headache so massive that you just wanted to gouge out your own eyeballs? That's what I had when I finally felt myself come around, the mother of all migraines. I grimaced in pain, trying to move a hand to cover my eyes from the piercing light that shone into them.

Only...my hands were behind my back, and seemed to be tied together. I tried to tug them apart, but to no avail. Groaning in pain, I forced myself to open my eyes to see what exactly was going on.

I felt shock as I saw that I was within the cave of the Light Pool, leaning against the wall facing the entrance to the outside. There was a bright lamp set close to me, illuminating what the currently dark pool refused to. The pictures upon the walls seemed creepy in the artificial light, though, and a tremor of fear rolled through my body.

"Ah, the princess awakens."

My head turned towards that familiar voice, eyes widening when I saw Kouta standing in the corner casually. A crumpled figure lay behind him on the ground, but I couldn't make out who it was with the poor lighting. I did, however, know that they had some blood on them, not enough to mean they were dead, but it gave me the knowledge that the boy in front of me wasn't playing any kind of game.

"Wh-what's going on?" I demanded, glaring boldly at the brunette as he strode over with a cocky smirk. "Why are we here?"

"Well, I thought it'd be nice to put you in a familiar place. After all the work it took to find it, I think it warrants a small treat." He walked closer to me, and my eyes narrowed in intense hate at his words.

"Get the hell away from me!" I hissed at him, moving a few inches back by using my legs. Kouta looked amused at my attempts, reaching down and grabbing me by my shirt collar to lift me to my feet, which were also bound so I wouldn't be able to run.

I was barely standing when a fist came out of nowhere, hitting my gut hard and causing me to cry out as I collapsed back onto the rock below. I coughed, grimacing in pain as I turned my head to glare up at my classmate.

"Y-you...!"

He knelt down, that confident smirk still on his face as he grabbed my chin and tilted my face up to see it. "See, I'd hoped you wouldn't be stupid enough to try and extract yourself from my little game, but then you went and found someone outside my sphere of influence."

I looked up at him, wondering what the hell he was talking about. The question must have shown in my expression because he let my chin go, only to draw his hand back and slap me across the face.

"I've been playing with you and everyone else, Yukino. It was unexpected, the way Nayomi came to me and asked to be my girlfriend before you got a chance, but it turned out quite nice in the end. The anguish and betrayal in your face when you found out was quite nice to see whenever I came around. Even after you tried to be cold, I could still tell you were uncomfortable."

I lay there with my face stinging as he talked, clenching my jaw in an effort to not say something stupid to piss him off and just try to figure out what I needed to do to get out of this mess.

"And then you had to meet that short bastard," Kouta snorted, his face twisting into one of intense dislike. He grabbed me and hauled my body up again, this time actually letting me stand on my own.

I was able to glance around, and I couldn't help but stiffen when I saw that it was Nayomi laying crumpled in the corner of the room, blood leaking from the corner of her mouth. Dark bruises were starting to appear on her face as well, and I finally understood what she meant by 'punishment.'

The boy noticed where my eyes were focused and looked back with a disappointed expression. "Ah, yes. She was supposed to find a way to isolate you and get you easier to manipulate again, but useless as she is, failed to do that. Making me have to fetch you on my own as well...unforgivable."

I saw Nayomi twitch some at that, and for once in so many years of knowing her, I was worried about her condition. How long had she taken the abuse before I'd woken up? How long before now had she been beaten? I turned and glared in fury at Kouta.

"Who the hell do you think you are, treating us like this?!" I demanded loudly, knowing that no one would hear me anyway. With the pool dim as it was, my hopes of a certain Sea God hearing us slim to none, but that sliver was still there. That one little hint of hope made me watch the sluggish waters out of the corner of my eye, praying that it would go still...

His fist came flying at me, connecting with my temple with enough force to spin me halfway around. Unable to hold myself up, I fell against the unforgiving stone wall as my ears rang. I suppressed a whimper of pain, choosing instead to bite his hand when he went to grab me again.

Kouta grunted in pain, then calmly pulled his foot back and smashed it against my jaw. I let go to scream in pain, the sound echoing off the enclosed walls around us.

"Defiance is a bad idea, Yukino," he chastised, moving me into a sitting position. The teen boy was perfectly poised, calm as he looked down at me. That more than anything started to frighten me, the fact that he was so used to doing this that it didn't get a reaction from him anymore.

I let my head hang down, gritting my teeth and debating on what I could do. If I didn't get out of this, I was in for one hell of a beating. I wanted to see if Nayomi was okay as well, as she had been undergoing this far longer than the short session I'd had to endure so far. I kept my eyes down from him while I thought hard, watching those damn feet of his.

"You know, if you hadn't have met that other boy and stayed alone, this wouldn't be happening." He squatted down to see my face, reaching forward to yank my head up by the hair. I hissed in pain, my eyes furious as I looked back at him. "You should have just let me and Nayomi play our game with you, then get rid of you when we became bored. Now both of you have to be punished."

"Punished for what? Not listening to a prick like you?" I spat, literally, into his face. Not a second later I received another blow to my body, this time right on my diaphragm. I fell into coughing fits at that, gasping for a breath through the pain. Shit, shut your stupid mouth, Yukino!

"Punished for finding a way to be without me," Kouta said, his tone icy now. "If I didn't do anything, you and Nayomi both would have left me, finding your own little happy endings. And I just can't stand being left behind by anyone."

I heard a whimper coming from Nayomi's direction, and both of us looked over to see her trying to get to her feet, tears rolling down her eyes as she tried to see past the swelling that marred her face. Her dark eyes looked at Kouta, pleading with them as she rasped words out of her broken throat.

"I w-was never going to leave you, Kouta-kun...I was happy with you." Her arms gave out from under her, and she fell back to the rock below, gasping in pain. "When I s-said I didn't care about Yukino, I r-really meant it..."

My heart flew out to her, and I tried to move so that I could go see her, maybe tend to her wounds. Nayomi was so beaten up, unable to even really move on her own, and she still was trying to calm him down, reassure him that she wasn't leaving.

You sure as hell are when I find a way to get us out of here, I swore to her silently. She may have been a bitch, but there was no way I'd leave her with this psycho now that I knew what was going on.

Kouta sighed and pushed me back against the wall once more, making me bang the back of my head against it. I grunted in pain but managed to stay standing, eyeing him as he went back to Nayomi and grabbed her by the hair, lifting her up despite her broken scream of pain. He snarled into her face, looking more vicious than I'd ever seen him.

"You lying little harlot! I've seen you flirt with other men! Heard that you told someone that I was easily expendable! Do you think something like that wouldn't get around to me?!" He was shouting loudly, making her flinch back and wriggle weakly to get away from him, fresh tears rolling down her cheeks.

As furious as I was at how he was treating her right in front of me, I had to think. I tested the bindings on my wrists, but they didn't loosen at all. My feet were the same way, and there were no knives around to cut the bindings.

My eyes fell on the dark pool in the middle of the room, which was still moving like molten lead. I felt a sudden urge to hit my head against the wall myself for not thinking of calling the one man who would help me out of any situation.

I lowered my head to that my mouth was relatively close to the pearl, and I whispered fiercly, praying that he would head me.

"Takeru, Takeru, Takeru!"

"Oi, what are you doing?!"

Kouta's hand appeared out of the corner of my eye an instant before it hit my already banged up face. I hissed in pain and staggered, but grabbed onto a crack in the wall behind me and managed to stay standing. I glared at the boy through my white hair that was hanging in my face, expression making it clear that I was not going to take his shit.

"Who the hell were you calling?" he demanded, his anger now directed at me. Good, it'll give Nayomi a break.

"Someone to kick your ass all the way to hell, that's who!" I spat at him, tone venomous. Those dull brown eyes of his flashed with rage, his hand grabbing onto my collar and lifting me up into the air. I struggled in his grip, feeling the fabric bite into my skin sharply.

"Where's your phone? I took it off of you before I brought you here, you don't have anything else!"

I snorted at him, then lashed out with my legs. I hit him right in the gut as hard as I could, making his breath whoosh out some. Unfortunately for me, it only seemed to piss him off farther. He let go of my collar, but as I fell his hand turned into a fist and hit my face once more. The force of this punch sent me flying to the side a couple of feet, and I landed heavily on the unforgiving stone, groaning in pain.

As he walked over, rage turning his face ugly, I lowered my lips back to the pearl and sent another prayer to my god.

"Takeru, Takeru, Takeru!"

"Oh, your boyfriend?" Kouta asked mockingly before giving a good kick to my ribs. I felt a strong pain radiate from the spot, and prayed again, only this time hoping that the slight crack I thought I heard wasn't what I thought it was...

"Yeah, I heard that you were wandering around the city looking all depressed. What's the matter? He get tired of a smart ass bitch like you? Did he find someone who looked prettier than you?"

My expression flickered as the image of that damn goddess came to mind, and Kouta smirked when he saw it. "Ah, so he did. I wonder, does he even care about you now, since he's gotten someone who's better than you?"

Fury exploded within my, and when his foot came forward again I twisted out of the way and sank my teeth into his ankle like a dog, biting down with all my strength as he gave a pained howl. I didn't care as he started to try and shake me off, I held on, finally putting my mouth to good use. If I was going to be beaten, I might as well take a chunk of this bastard with me.

"You fucking bitch!" he snarled. He hit my head several times, enough to make my vision fuzzy and my thoughts blurry, but I stubbornly held on. I wanted this one to suffer, even if just by biting his foot off.

When Kouta finally started to bang my head against the rock wall, my jaws were forced to release their grip. I spat out the blood from the rather deep mark I'd left on his ankle, smirking up at him in defiance as I prayed once more.

"Takeru, Takeru, Takeru!"

On the outside I was putting on a brave front, but on the inside I was terrified. Terrified of what was going to happen till Takeru got here. Terrified of what was going to happen if he didn't appear. Mostly the latter. If I'd wounded him so much that he never wanted to even see me or hear from me, then I was just royally fucked.

Kouta lifted me off the ground once again, this time by my neck. I choked and tried to breath through his grip, but he only tightened his grip on me, cutting off my air.

"Your little boyfriend isn't coming for you, Yukino," he spat, clearly enraged that I'd managed to injure him. "And now I have to punish you more. You're the only one who makes me this mad, do you know that?"

"Call it a gift," I coughed out, managing to smirk down at him. He frowned then, his eyes lowering to the pearl that still lay around my neck and looking at it thoughtfully. My panic spiked when I realized that he was reaching up to touch it.

"This only appeared right around the time I think you met your boyfriend," Kouta commented, lightly touching the pearl with a fingertip. A nauseous feeling overcame me when he did that, and I wondered in the back of my mind why this other man touching something I held so sacred to myself gave me that reaction.

All thoughts left me, though, when he grabbed onto it and pulled, making the clasp in the back shatter. I cried out at the sudden feeling of loss, utter terror streaking through my system as he let me fall to the ground. I immediately tried to get up, wanting my precious pearl out of his hands. The bile rose in my throat as he turned it over in his hands calmly, as if entranced.

"This is very pretty. Must have cost him a pretty penny to get you something you clearly hold dear." A cruel smirk appeared on his face, and he let the pearl drop out of his hand to the floor in front of me. I leaned forward, about to take it back, but a sharp kick to my already aching ribs made me pull back. "Ah, I didn't say you could have that. In fact, since it's from him..."

"N-no, stop!" I cried out desperately, realizing what he was going to do as he lifted his foot up above the pearl, horror making me freeze instead of try to reach out. "Stop!"

Kouta's foot came down hard upon the pearl, and a resonating crack made my heart stop beating. I stared in shock as he ground his foot down, turning the once magical item into a smear of white dust on the rock. My body became numb in an instant, all the strength I had left flowing out like blood from a wound.

Just like that, the last connection I'd had with Takeru was gone, rubbed away like it had never been. A hollow ache made itself known in my heart, and the tears finally started to fall from my eyes as Kouta smirked down at my distress.

"Now that the eyesore is gone, I'm finding you much prettier in this state," he commented, kicking me with his foot to roll me over. I let him, body limp as I stared at the ceiling as pure terror came over me.

Takeru hadn't heard me. He wasn't coming to save me.

The brunette above me merely smiled, malicious intent in those dull brown eyes.

"So, lets go ahead and get this over with. Neh, Yu-ki-no-chan?~"

---

Takeru stood before the Emperor, head bowed down while his fists clenched at his sides. The elder god stared down at him with those slightly clouded eyes of his, stroking his beard in contemplation at his request.

"So you think she is in danger?"

"I know she is, mi'lord!" The Sea god said, unconsciously moving a hand up to his chest to rub the still painful area around his heart. The pain had only increased as of late, the longer he forced himself to stay away from his pearl. "Please, let me go see if she's alright!"

"I already told you that you were forbidden to see her again, Susano'o. Why do you think that I will change my mind now?" The Emperor asked him with a stern voice.

"Would you rather I have run off without your permission?" Takeru shot back, his temper and intense feeling of foreboding making him forget his manners. "Just let me go see her!"

He had heard Yukino's calls to him, and had felt the sudden sharp pains coming from her body in different places, quite a few on her face. He knew she was in trouble, but had hoped that she would get out of it. It wasn't until he'd felt the power within his pearl crack and disintegrate that he'd panicked. Now he no longer could sense what was happening to her, couldn't use it to check up on her. If the pearl had been destroyed, then something very bad was happening to his human.

"Hmm..." The old man leaned back in his throne, closing his eyes to think. Takeru fidgeted where he stood, itching to just get going. His brother stood a few steps behind him, watching silently with those golden eyes. He'd been the one to calm his brother down enough to take him to see the Emperor first before rushing off to see Yukino, not wanting his little brother to get in more trouble.

"Please, there's not much time!" The blunette begged, his voice breaking ever so slightly from his emotions. The worry he felt for Yukino was about to kill him. If the Emperor didn't let him go, he probably would disobey the order anyway, but maybe this way he wouldn't get into as much trouble...

The elder god looked down at him at that, narrowing his eyes.

"...Very well. You may check up on your human. Tsukuyomi, you will accompany him to ensure that he does not stray from his task."

Tsukito bowed low. "I accept this mission."

Takeru's face showed his immense relief, and he also bowed in gratitude. "Thank you!" He turned and bolted from the audience chamber then, eager to get to the portal and find out what was going on. His brother followed him with ease despite his fast pace, robes barely making a sound as they came to the Sea god's house.

Both of them stopped and stared at the still darkened portal, unsure of how to continue on from there. "Shit, I forgot that the portal wasn't working..." Takeru cursed with a grimace.

"What happened to it?"

"It was like this when I told Yukino to never call me again," he admitted, feeling the shame of that day creeping up his neck.

"...Did you mean that?"

Blinking, the Sea god looked at his brother in surprise. "Eh? W-well, at the time I did, but..."

Tsukito tilted his head to the side slightly. "But?"

"...But now I know that I shouldn't have said that." Takeru glanced away, sighing heavily. "I was mad at what she said, but we were both stressed. She'd just learned that I was engaged, by Kushinada herself, and I was frustrated that she wasn't listening when I tried to tell her that I couldn't see her in order to protect her."

The pool in front of him stilled some, and the lights grew a bit stronger as well. Both of them looked at it in surprise before glancing to each other. Hoping he was onto something, Takeru kept talking.

"Honestly, if she ever called to me again, I'd have gone regardless. Emperor's orders or not, I'm not going to let my silly jellyfish go easily." He smirked as a few memories came to him, feeling the ache in his heart soften for the first time in days. As the ache lessened, the light got brighter.

"...The portal reacts to yours and her emotional state," the Moon god realized. "If you truly wish to see each other, perhaps we can get through." The purple haired god looked to his brother. "Do you wish to see her again?"

"From the bottom of my heart," Takeru answered without hesitation, taking a step towards the pool as the lights grew in strength rapidly. "More than anything, I want to protect her, even if I have to go against the Emperor himself." His fists clenched, and he sighed in resignation. "I love her too much to truly let her go."

The lights around the pool flashed brightly, making both gods cover their eyes from the harsh light. When they dared to open them again, they realized that the pool had been restored to its previous beauty, the water clear and rippling happily within the rock. But most importantly, they could hear what was going on on the other side.

"What the hell did you do, Yukino?!"

Takeru stiffened when he heard the bastard's voice echo through their cave. Clearly he hadn't listened to his warning to stay the fuck away from his pearl.

A scratchy voice responded, barely recognizable from how beat up it sounded. "I d-didn't do anything, I really didn't!"

"Yukino?" The Sea god muttered, eyes wide as he peered through the now still waters to see what exactly was going on, Tsukito doing the same.

Kouta was peering into the portal from the other side, his eyes wide when he saw the two of them. He backed up a few steps, dragging a body by the hair with him. A body with familiar white hair.

Takeru felt the fury explode within him, a killing rage overtaking him within an instant. Snarling, he stepped forward into the portal, barely letting Tsukito have time to follow him through before he summoned the waters to take them to the cave on the other side.

As the water pulled away from them, Takeru zeroed in on the frightened boy before him, eyes hard with rage. Not giving him a chance to recover, he lunged forward, grabbing Kouta by the throat and slamming him against the wall. He swore he heard the crack of bone, but at this point he was too far gone in his fury to care. The Rampaging God snarled into the youth's face as he screamed in terror.

"What the hell did I tell you, bastard?!" he demanded, holding the boy up against the stone without mercy.

"I d-didn't do anything, nothing!" the pathetic boy whimpered, his hands trying to loosen the grip around his neck as he choked.

Takeru heard Tsukito move to check on the girl laying a few feet away, glancing over as he turned her face towards the light. His blood ran cold when he saw the blood and forming bruises on her face, one of her eyes swollen shut from a large lump on her temple. The god turned back to the boy, murder in his gaze.

"You lying fucker."

Tsukito turned away as his brother began to take out his fury on the boy, finding it hard to care as the human cried out for mercy. He checked Yukino as she coughed, trying to breathe through her mouth.

"Ts-tsukito-san..."

"Hush. We'll get you to safety," he assured her, preparing to pick her up.

"He-help her too," the girl rasped out, her pained blue eyes going towards another figure on the floor in the corner. The Moon god saw that it was another girl, one he didn't know. "She's been taking his shit for a lot longer than I have, take her first."

"We came only for you, Manabe-san," he told her, though he frowned slightly.

"Please, her first," Yukino insisted, her eyes pleading with him.

Takeru let Kouta fall when he heard Yukino plead with his brother, not giving a damn about the broken whimper the boy gave as he coughed up some blood. He walked over into her line of view, and his heart squeezed at the sight of her struggling to smile.

"Brother, get the other girl. I'll take her," he said, glancing at the unnervingly still body of Nayomi before he leaned over, very delicately picking his jellyfish up off the stone floor.

"We were only supposed to check on them," the Moon God reminded him, but he moved to Nayomi anyway, lifting her up gently in his arms and frowning at her unconscious face.

"Fuck that, I'm taking Yukino back." He glared over at the boy, who cowered before the angry god. "You're damn lucky I don't kill you for this," he said coldly.

"Wh...what the hell are you?" Kouta asked, his voice high pitched from pain and shock.

"He's Susano'o," the exhausted girl in Takeru's arms spoke up then, giving her assailant a deadly glare herself. "The God of Sea and Storms. And you pissed him off."

"Pearl, save your energy," he said, speaking to her softly as she coughed and inhaled with a bit of trouble.

"Your boyfriend is a fucking god?!"

"Yes, I am." The blunette nodded at the pool, summoning a whip of water to grab the boy by the neck and hold him up. "And if you ever lay a hand on another girl again, you can be sure that I'll kill you." His voice held a promise in it, golden eyes cold as he watched the boy dangle helplessly in the air before letting him drop, the water around his neck moving to bind him by his hands and feet.

A light touch on his cheek made Takeru look down at the girl in his arms, his heart once again aching at the sight of her beat up, bruised and bloody face. Despite that though, she had a soft smile on her lips, her one good eye looking up at him in love.

"I'm sorry I said that about the goddess that day," she mumbled, unable to talk that loudly.

"Shh...come on, let's get you somewhere safe. Tsukito." He looked at his brother, who waited by the portal pool patiently.

Nodding at each other, the gods stepped over the water, the surface going still and surging upwards to cover them. Takeru got one last look at the memories drawn in chalk upon the walls, illuminated by a revitalized pool that let the light dance and play within the cave once more.

Then he was standing in his house in the god's realm, stepping forward and turning to see a highly startled Kushinada in the room. His eyes narrowed at her, but he couldn't bring himself to care about why she was in his house.

"Go fetch Sukuna-san!" he ordered her, naming off the god of medicine and rain, knowing he would be able to treat the two girls effectivly. The woman jumped at his harsh tone, eyeing the humans in their arms before deciding it was best to just do as he said for now.

"Of course." Kushinada hurried out to find the healer, leaving the two men to lay the girls in the guest room Takeru had. The looked over them carefully, even Tsukito feeling angry at how much they had been abused.

"I should have killed the bastard," Takeru muttered, looking at a now unconscious Yukino.

"It would have been too troublesome if you had," Tsukito responded, a slight edge to his voice as he smoothed out Nayomi's ripped shirt and skirt in an effort to make her at least a little more comfortable.

The door to the room opened, and a short man dressed in a healer's robes appeared, followed by Kushinada, her father, and much to Takeru's surprise, a stray Greek god of Fertility.

"Yo," Dionysus waved. "I came to say hello, but I heard something had happened?" His eyes drifted down to the two human girls, and his bright golden eyes darkened in shock. "What...?"

"It's a long story," Takeru sighed, moving out of the way of Sukuna as the little god pulled out a bag of medicinal supplies.

"Tsk tsk, how in the world did this happen?!" he twittered aloud, lifting Yukino's arm to inspect the cuts and bruises she had.

"A human boy who decided it was a good idea to take whatever problems he had out on them," the god snarled in anger, ignoring the slight flash of possessiveness he felt when Sukuna lifted his girl's shirt to inspect the damage done there.

"Well he certainly did a number on them," was the comment. Takeru had to resist rolling his eyes, instead stroking Yukino's less hurt cheek to make himself calm down.

"Why is she here, Susano'o?" Kushinada's father spoke up then, not sounding happy at all about the appearance of the two girls. His daughter hovered behind him, a fan hiding the lower half of her face, but her eyes were wide and focused on the blood and bruises covering Nayomi and Yukino.

"I wasn't going to leave her there with that bastard!" the Sea god snapped, his anger not fully dissipated. "Would you have wanted me to leave Kushinada-hime with someone like that?" he demanded, taking the horrified expression on the other god's face his answer. "Then shut up and leave us be!"

"Susano'o," the goddess spoke up then, her voice trembling. "How did this happen?"

Takeru opened his mouth to say that it was her fault, for breaking the news of their engagement in such a destructive manner, but Sukuna, the little fireball that he was, interrupted him.

"It doesn't matter how it happened, I have two patients to treat! All of you, even you Tsukuyomi and Susano'o, get out so that I may heal these girls in peace!" His voice was high pitched in irritation, and all of the other gods flinched before doing as he said.

Sukuna may have been a lesser god than all of them, but everyone respected the healer. He had helped shape the earth, and was deserving of his title. Even if his less-than-soothing attitude rubbed a few other gods wrong on the occasion.

Dionysus glanced over at his friends in concern when they were out of the room. Tsukito pulled Takeru over, talking to their old classmate in hushed tones so the other Japanese gods wouldn't hear.

"So, who's humans are those?" the redhead asked, looking between the two.

"The girl with white hair is mine," Takeru said immediately, crossing his arms and giving a worried glance towards the guest room. "The other is...was...her enemy. She had taken the boy who had beaten them from Yukino, and they were on bad terms."

"But she asked to bring the other girl here," Tsukito said, shifting his weight ever so slightly.

"I guess even she could put aside her differences to help Nayomi," the blunette sighed, shaking his head. "I should have killed that bastard."

"Well, it'd be a chore cleaning up after that, so it's good you didn't." The God of Fertility shrugged before looking at him. "I thought you were to be married to that beauty over there." He nodded in Kushinada's direction. "What happened?"

"I met Yukino long before that came up." Takeru rubbed his forehead, feeling a headache coming on. "I could care less about Kushinada-hime and our engagement. I tried to convince the Emperor to rethink it, but he refused."

"So you had to break up with your human girlfriend? Harsh." Dio shook his head with a sigh.

"Tch..." His fists clenched and his teeth gritting, the Japanese deity looked at the floor in shame. "I should have been able to protect her..."

"You did the best you could," Tsukito told him, placing a hand on his shoulder to comfort him. "If you had kept in contact, the Emperor would have harmed you both."

"Oh?" The Greek put his hands behind his head, looking thoughtful. "The only way he could do that is by keeping you apart."

Both of the other gods looked at him, blinking. "What do you mean, Dionysus?" the purple haired god asked.

"Well, if someone tries to separate Yui and Apollon, they experience physical pain," the redhead explained casually. "Something about a bond between a human and a god when they fall in love with each other. They can't really be apart without severe repercussions. Sort of like withdrawal, or maybe a hangover." The lazy god mused, trying to put it into words.

"What happens when that bond is broken?" Tsukito asked, his brother rigged beside him.

"Unless the both desire to part, it can't be broken. Once both the human and god admit their love, to themselves or one another, it's nearly impossible to get their bond to break. You didn't know this?"

"They had no need to know it, Greek."

All three whipped their heads around to see the wizened Emperor himself step over the threshold of Takeru's home. Tsukito and Dio bowed in respect, but Takeru glared at the old god, fury reflecting in his eyes. The gray-haired man looked back with a calm expression, motioning for the younger god to approach him.

The Sea god strode forward, back stiff as he walked to stand in front of his lord. They stared at each other for a while, the tension in the air making the other gods nervous as they watched the silent confrontation.

"You brought her back with you." It wasn't a question.

"I won't leave her behind again." It wasn't debatable.

Bright gold met slightly dull gold in a contest of wills, neither willing to back down. Dio shifted uncomfortably, looking around for a possible escape route in case Takeru decided to be foolish enough to throw a punch at the head god of the Japanese realm.

A long sigh passed wrinkled lips, and the Emperor closed his eyes as he shook his head. "I tried to make the break clean, to save you both from pain, but neither of you desired to truly part."

"Why did you want us to separate?" Takeru demanded, his anger rising by the second.

"To spare you the pain of loosing the one you love." The man's voice was grave, his eyes flickering with memories of old. "I have gone through the experience, though it was a goddess who was my wife."

"Izanami," Tsukito murmured, just loud enough for others to hear.

"Yes." The god sighed heavily. "You and your brothers were born when I washed myself on the underworld's impurities after failing to get her, so the endeavor was not without a good ending. But," he said, leveling his gaze on Susano'o. "To love a human is to wish for that pain. I do not want you to go through what I did, son."

Takeru blinked at the old man, feeling his anger fade ever so slightly. He was trying to protect him from the sadness that awaited when Yukino died? The god eyed his father, conflicted feelings arising within him. Though the god before him was indeed his father, he didn't feel like he'd done much in the way of raising him the way he believed a father should. But now he could understand the reasons, of being aloof, and then trying to dissuade him from visiting Yukino in the human realm, and trying to get him married to another.

But just because he understood it didn't mean he accepted it.

"Izanagi," Takeru said informally, looking back at the Emperor with a steady gaze. His stance straightened, and he stood before his creator not as a subordinate, as the other gods did, but looked at him like an equal, his head held high. The other Japanese gods looked in shock at him, while Dio watched with lazy interest at what was happening.

"I appreciate you trying to spare me the pain. But," he added, before the old man could speak again. "I know what I'm getting myself into. She may be human, but I would rather go through the pain of seeing her grow old and dying by my side that seeing her live her life away from my side."

"Susano'o!" Kushinada exclaimed, shock and fury in her tone. "That is the Emperor you speak to!"

"This is my father I speak to, Kushinada," he retorted, giving her a look that shut her up very quickly.

Izanagi reguarded the Sea god carefully, thinking to himself while his hand ran along his beard in habit. Takeru watched him, his body refusing to move an inch. He would not give up this time, he swore.

"...Very well."

All the gods present, including Dionysus, paused, waiting for what this powerful god would say.

"You may remain with her for now, if it is she you truly wish to be with."

Takeru broke out into a smile, relief making his knees weak as he looked back at his brother and friend, seeing their matching grins.

"However," the Emperor continued, pulling his attention back to him. "I will require her to stay here while she recovers. I will see if she is worthy enough to remain by your side, or if she will be sent home to the human world."

"How will you deem her worthy, mi'lord?" Kushinada's father asked, glancing at his furious looking daughter.

Izanagi spared a glance at them before returning his gaze to Takeru. "That will be for me to know, and you to discover. For now, tend to her. I will return at a later date."

The old god turned around with more grace than another at his age could possibly possess and stepped out into the courtyard beyond the door, leaving all four gods and one goddess to watch as he left, wondering just what it was he had planned next.