Yay, another chapter! I beg you for your patience as my story goes on. Unforseen events have prevented me from writing this earlier, but I shall always write for my dear readers. :3 Now, let's see where this bet of theirs shall lead...
I knew I'd end up regretting this bet, but of course my stupid self just had to prove a point to that overconfident, uppity bitch of a goddess. I groaned and hit my head against the wall of my room an hour later, praying that this wouldn't end with this blowing up in my face.
Glancing at how the light looked, I realized that Takeru would be home soon. He had had to stay late and get his duties that he'd skipped to tend to me out of the way before being allowed to return, and I thought of how I could welcome him home. Humming in thought, I stood up with a bit of difficulty and wandered around the house, looking for something I could do for him.
A strange noise came from the kitchen, drawing my attention. Frowning, I peeked inside, only to choke on air at the sight I saw.
Somehow or another, Kushinada had snuck in and was now in there, cooking. Cooking. I stood there with my mouth open in shock as she turned around. She looked different than normal, and it took me a few seconds to realize that she had taken on a human form. Her normally long, flowing hair was shorter, only down to mid-back. Her golden eyes had faded to a deep shade of forest green, and she wore a functional kimono instead of her flowing robes. She hummed while she worked, mixing the rice in the pot in front of her.
"What the hell are you doing in here?!" I demanded, utterly flabbergasted at the sight of the proud goddess looking...well, human.
"Hm? Oh, I'm fixing Susano'o some lunch for when he returns," she replied happily, turning to face me while holding a wooden spoon in her hand. "Why, were you going to do the same?"
"...No. I can't cook." I grimaced at the slew of horrible past experiences flooded my mind. Kushinada smirked in triumph as I divulged the information.
"Ah, too bad. The mark of a good wife is her cooking skills~" That jab said, she turned back to what she was doing as I glared viciously at her back.
Scowling now, I marched out of the kitchen as quickly as my ribs would allow without aching, now wondering what in the world I could do to top her. From the glance I'd gotten at what she was making, it was going to be a very delicious meal. I looked around the house, poking my nose into a few rooms I'd never been in before
One of them appeared to be his bedroom, and I blinked at just how dirty it was. He must not have had time lately to clean up after himself. I stepped in and closed the door behind myself, rolling up the sleeves of my kimono and setting to work.
Takeru sighed in relief as he opened the door to his home, glad to finally have caught up with his duties enough to relax. He'd been so focused on helping Yukino feel comfortable while she was on bed-rest he'd skipped his role as a god, till the Emperor had practically ordered him to get back to his job. As interesting as it had been to see the amusement on the god's wrinkled old face, it had still been a lot of work to do in one day.
As he stepped over the threshold, however, he paused. He thought he smelled...food? Recalling that Yukino had no talent in the kitchen, the god rushed to the kitchen in worry.
He stopped at the doorway, eyes widening at the sight of the literal feast before him. All kinds of food were set on the table, very well done and smelling absolutely delicious. His golden eyes drifted to the casually sitting woman there, sipping on some green tea she had brewed. She looked human, but also very familiar...
"Kushinada-hime?" he asked, stepping into the room
"Ah, welcome home mi'lord~!" the goddess greeted, standing up to bow in welcome. "Was everything okay today?"
"Y-yeah...what is all this?" Takeru asked, motioning to the full table.
"I thought I'd fix you something to eat, knowing how hard you worked." She smiled at him, seemingly very happy with herself. The blunette eyed her, not sure of her intentions. She'd never done this before...what was going on?
"I'll eat in a bit, I'm rather tired...where's Yukino?"
A flash of frustration crossed her green eyes, but Kushinada merely shrugged. "I haven't seen her for a while now, she wandered around the house a bit though."
"Thank you." The Sea god brushed past the goddess, heading for the guest room first to see where his little pearl was. She wasn't in her own room, and as we went through the house, he found no trace of her. Frowning, he wondered if she'd decided to take a walk.
Well, at least I know no one will harm her in this realm, he told himself, sliding the door open to his room. He paused, seeing that something was off.
It took him a few seconds to realize that the sudden change to his room was that it was clean. Golden eyes moved over the properly stored swords, folded clothes and organized spaces before landing on the figure laying on his bed. A smile tugged at his lips at the sight of Yukino fast asleep, her face buried into his pillow while she hugged it tightly. Takeru strode over and gently stroked her cheek, hearing her mumble when she shifted around.
"Silly jellyfish," he mumbled affectionately. A quick shift to human form, and he lay down beside her, hugging her from behind and tucking his body around hers to keep her warm. Mindful of her still-healing ribs, he settled in for a nap, content to have her in his arms while they slept.
I was very surprised when I woke up after accidentally falling asleep on Takeru's bed. He had snuggled me while we napped, and even though I was extremely embarrassed, I was giving a huge consideration to doing it again. He'd been so warm, and the way he'd mumbled in protest as I'd tried to wake him up was just too cute.
Kushinada hadn't been happy when we both appeared, yawning and trying to straighten our clothes out, and the look she had given me would have made any other person wither. I'd merely smirked, realizing I'd won the first round.
Tsukito and Nayomi came over for dinner, making it five people to eat all the food the goddess had prepared. I was surprised to see Nayomi in a completely new outfit, one she proudly said she had made herself.
"I really don't like the kimonos, but this is a lot more comfortable," she said, giving me a twirl when I asked her as we prepared to eat. She was dressed in a purple dress that reached her mid-thigh, with a strapless top decorated with silver lining to accentuate her bust. She'd put sheer light pink fabric around the middle as well as for the sleeves, giving the dress a nice accent. Thick silver bands encircled her upper arms, and she'd fashioned some nice purple shoes as well. I was rather envious of her skill with cloth, and she giggled when I mentioned this to her.
"You just have to have the talent for it," she said, grinning foolishly at me.
"Maybe you should make me an outfit sometime," I commented, shaking my head as we sat down. "Just not...so short for me, if you please."
"Your body type couldn't pull something like this off, Yukino-chan," was the response, and I had to bite back a comment at the reappearance of the old Nayomi. I was glad she was getting better after the whole Kouta thing, but I'd rather her not have her flashes of bitch.
"Let's eat," Tsukito said then, sitting at the table. Both gods and the one goddess were in human form, probably to make me and Nayomi feel more comfortable. I could see the way she glanced at the Moon god in curiosity, though, so it was probably her first time seeing his human self.
"Thank you for the food," I said politely before reaching for what I wanted. Everyone else followed suit, tucking in to the very good food.
"Wow! This is so good," Nayomi said, savoring a mouthful of rice and chicken.
Kushinada beamed proudly. "I worked hard on it all, so please eat up!"
I mentally rolled my eyes at her while I ate, though secretly I was impressed at her culinary skills. Everything was seasoned and cooked to perfection, and I could only stew in my jealousy in silence.
"How have you been, Takeru-san?" Nayomi asked, always the one to start the conversations.
"Good, had to do some catching up on my duties today." His answer was short, and I couldn't blame him for not trusting Nayomi still. I was only just starting to get used to her presence, at least able to tolerate her for more than ten minutes now.
"You too? Tsukito-san had to do that as well," the dark haired girl commented as she nibbled on a sauteed veggie.
Both Takeru and I glanced in surprise at Tsukito as he calmly ate his own food in silence. Him? Skip his duties? Even I knew that it never happened. He closed his eyes and sighed ever so slightly.
"I had other duties to attend to first," he said, not clarifying exactly what other duties he ment. It was...odd, to say the least.
I frowned, thinking to myself about what else he could possibly be doing as Nayomi chattered away, quickly engaging Kushinada and debating back and forth with her about something or other that I honestly couldn't care about.
After we all ate we went our separate ways, I myself hunting down a good book and heading into the afternoon sun for a nice relaxing read. Takeru decided to join me, even though I told him that I would probably be absorbed in the book pretty quickly. He said he didn't mind, that he just wanted to stay close in case I needed anything, to which I smiled at him fondly.
I took a seat beneath the center cherry tree, leaning against the trunk instead of using the bench that was offered. The Sea god, still in his human form, settled in beside me, glancing at the book I was opening up. It was a story about a young girl setting off on an adventure to save her older sister, ending up flying all across Japan and meeting many mythical and exciting creatures.
"That looks interesting," he said. I nodded and flipped to the first chapter, reading the poem that was written there.
"It is. I've been wanting to read it for a while now," I admitted, scanning the first few sentences before settling back against the tree behind me.
Like I'd warned him, I got absorbed into the book almost at once, eating up the pages with surprising swiftness. Before I knew it I looked up and the sun was starting to set on us. I saved my page and stretched, looking over to realize that Takeru wasn't there anymore. I frowned and stood up, walking around the garden to look for the missing god.
I heard voices coming from behind a thick part of the trees, both very familiar. I eased my way through the brush, trying to keep hidden as I peered through the leaves to see Takeru being cornered by Kushinada. He looked bemused as she talked in a soft voice, and I was unable to make out what was being said from this distance.
I scooted closer, straining to hear what was going on when I froze as Kushinada wrapped her arms around his waist, smiling up at him seductively. The blunette sputtered a protest, which she quickly cut off with just a finger pressed to his lips. She spoke, and this time I could hear her clearly.
"Come on, she doesn't have to know~ Just one kiss is all I ask."
Fury shot through my system, making me see red. That underhanded, no good bitch!
Just as she lifted up to snag a kiss from Takeru, I grabbed her by the back of her kimono and pulled her off rather forcefully. Kushinada stumbled backwards as I planted myself in front of my god, glaring at her murderously.
"E-excuse me! You're interpreting something!" she huffed, clearly embarrassed to have been caught by me.
"Yukino?" Takeru looked down at me, but I was too pissed off to register either of their words.
"You bimbo, this was not a part of the bet!" I hissed furiously, to which she frowned.
"You said to win him over, you didn't specify what type of way I could do that."
"I figured you had at least some bone of self-respect not to try such an underhanded tactic like that!" I shot back, fists clenching at my sides. I was breathing a bit too heavily, and the pain in my chest forced me to gocus on calming down.
"What bet?" Takeru asked, his voice going hard behind me. I blinked, cursing myself for letting my anger take over me. I glanced back at him, ocean eyes apologetic.
"She and I had a bet," Kushinada said flatly, clearly not sorry at all. "She told me that if I managed to gain your total attention by the time of the date for our marriage, I could have you."
His amber eyes jerked to me, a furious expression appearing on his face and making me flinch. I turned to face him, finding him the bigger threat at the moment. "Why did you make that kind of bet?!" he demanded, rightly angry. "Let her have me? Am I just not worth it if she can steal me away?"
"C-calm down, let me explain please..." I murmured, wilting in front of his fury. This man was my weak spot, and I felt shame creep up the back of my neck at what he was probably thinking from the half information Kushinada had given him. The bitch had done it on purpose, and she watched as she drew her blasted fan from her sleeve, waving it while smiling.
"Don't bother. I'm going home," he spat, turning from me and storming off. I took a step after him, calling at him to wait, but he disappeared into the brush, leaving me and Kushinada alone.
I watched him as he vanished, my hand in the air in front of me as if to try and grab onto him, bring him back and tell him what I really meant. Guilt flayed me alive that I hadn't told him before now about what was going on, thinking that it'd be fairer so that he wouldn't obviously choose me. My mind battered me mercilessly for thinking that Kushinada would play fair in this game. I heard her chuckle behind me as a blush of shame crept onto my face.
I whirled on her, my shame turning to pure anger. "You did that on purpose you fucking low bitch!" I accused, not caring to hold back any kind of curses.
"Such language does not become a lady," was her lazy comment, and I had to hold myself back from wrapping my hands around her skinny little neck and throttling her on the spot. "And don't you know the rules?"
"What rules?!" I demanded, hissing as she turned and walked casually to the trees.
A quick flash of light and she was once again in her goddess form, those bright, holier-than-thou gold eyes tilted up as she smirked.
"All is fair in love and war. I do believe it was humans who came up with that term."
With that, she turned and left the clearing, leaving me to wonder how I was going to explain this whole thing to Takeru.