Disclaimer: I own nothing except for my OCs and the plots.
Warning: Slight AU, SomaXOC
Special thanks for those who had kindly gives motivating reviews and favorite the story! They have me smiling for days! :D
Extra: As for those who are curious about Hatsuyuki's appearance, you may go to my profile and click on my DevianArt link to take a look at the sketch of her. :)
Happy reading!
"Kanzaki and Kansugi... Those two traitors..." a man narrowed his blood red eyes, cursed with pure rage at the miserable state of his lair, causing his remaining numbers of deformed subordinates and fallen peers cringed under his outburst of anger, save for Yagami who calmly stood next to him, waiting for his next order.
The lair was never a pleasant place in sight to begin with, it was literally a living inferno on earth; the stench of blood and tortured dead, moans of the agony of the forced fallen and deformed victims resounds in this dark and blood damped abandoned shrine that was hidden underground from the surface of the earth.
In fact, to have this place being partially forced purified, it was too agonizing for the fallens to stay any longer. This was exactly how pitiful a fallens are. They will suffer in sorrow pain of watching themselves rot and deformed in the midst of hell, hating at the same time begging for salvations, for someone to quickly just end their unbearable pain; yet, they despised the pure, they loathed it because the purities will burn them to ashes as a divide punishments for their wrong doings, thus the hate in them grew even more, they tend to stay away from pure beings as far as they can like plagues.
"I should've known it was impossible for the both of them to fall," the leader of the lair, Ogami, clenched both his hands into fists, words spilled like venoms through his gritting teeth, "They are brothers to the Deity of Chasity after all..."
"They have even taken most of our subordinates..." Koizumi snarled at the thought that her shikigamis that are still in Hatsuyuki's captive, body trembled as she rubs her burned right arm caused by the amulet that was placed on Soma by Hatsuyuki. It was terrifying, to think that a mere amulet could cause this much damage to her.
Hazuki, who have suffered the same burning pain on her wrists caused by Hatsuyuki's attack, nudged her twin sister to shut her up as soon as she noticed the blood red glares sent from Ogami to the trembling girl.
"If the both of you just focus on killing that deity instead of fooling around in that human's so-called last fortress of humankind, we don't have to worry much even if this happened!" Ogami hollered and threw his steel-made buster blade at the both of them. Blood instantly drained from Hazuki and Koizumi's face as the half of the big blade stabbed and sunk into the rotting wood floor between them, "Get out of my sight until I summons the both of you for the next task!"
Without needing to be told twice, two fallen female deities scrammed and fled want nothing more than staying away from their leader who could do anything out of rage, even if they are his younger sisters.
Once the two female fallen deities and the other subordinates were out of sight, Ogami snapped his furious gaze towards that man who stood beside him without showing a sign of fear, "You!"
Yagami merely gaze back with a neutral expression without flinching at the other's outburst of fury. He was used to it.
"There's something I have been dying to ask since your return three years ago," Ogami started as he walked up to the said man, eyes glowed in deeper shades of crimson as the anger that wells up in his chest are overwhelming his conscious, "So many given opportunities for you to kill her before the deity side of her awakes, why didn't you do it?"
Yagami's expression remains neutral as he replies, "I'm sure that I have injured her enough to kill her years ago, but who would have known that she was this persistent to live."
"She is well-known to have the strongest will among us! You should have stayed there long enough to make sure she is dead!" Ogami shouted and struck Yagami on his face, making the latter to stumble back a few step.
Showing no anger or displeased, Yagami wiped away the blood that trickled down from the corner of his lips with the back of his hand, "Face it, Ogami. She is the preventer of corruptions, once she have judged us to be a threat to human, she will not let us continue to roam around the human realm as we pleased, fallens like us are no match for her and her two brothers...Even if we were once her sworn siblings..."
"You're siding her now?"
"I'm merely stating the fact." Yagami countered.
"Load of bull, you just in denial that you couldn't bear the thought of killing her with your own hands!"
A moment to tensed silence shared between the two in the blood stench dark hall, Ogami smirked in realization, "Now I see what your true problem is," he grinned maliciously at his tensed fellow fallen, inching closer and closer to the once silver haired deity until his lips near the latter's right ear, whispering the truth that will certainly have the male suffered the heart wrenching memories about the incidents occurred decades ago.
"You still love her, don't you?" Ogami's smirk grew wider when the man tensed up even more, "It has been eons since she rejected your courtship because she chose to be with a lowly human, leaving you behind all alone to suffer the unrequired affection and pondering endlessly on why has she chose a weak human instead of a strong deity like you who could give her everything?"
"But how, Yagami?" The said man remained silent as Ogami continued pour his enticing venoms into his thoughts, "She hates you more than anything, possibly more than me who killed more than all of us could count. After all..." he moved himself a step away from the tensed man and looked straight into his eyes with immense cruelty, "That pure jealousy of yours along with the unrequired love you suffered had finally driven you to kill the human she loved dearly over half century ago, you seriously think she would just forgive you for what you have done?"
"That's not..."
"That's why you never dared to meet her eyes even when she has lost her memories, because you feared that you might see the same disappointment and hatred swirl in her eyes just like sixty years ago."
"You're wrong..."
"She hated you so much that she had even sealed you along with me by the entrance of the Yomi at the cost of her own life in the line."
"She..."
"She is the one should be the blame for what you have become, Yagami." Ogami sharply interject him again," She is the one who led you to taste the first blood of a human and turned you into what you are now. Hate her, kill her and free yourself from her curse, so that you will no longer have to suffer from a deity named Sakaki."
Yagami stared at the man who was still giving him the knowing expression before letting out a soft sigh, "You will never understand, Ogami," trying to ease the tension he felt and turned on his heels, intended retreat before being summon again for the next task given.
"Don't you dare turn your back on me!" Rage risen again within the mad man's chest at the sight of the Yagami turning his back at him, Ogami hollered yet again, "Where do you think you're going?!"
"Away from you," Yagami replied before continued to stroll to the exit, "Until you give your next order."
Ignoring the sound of the wall being smashed apart and the loud shouting came from his back, Yagami proceed to walk away.
Once out of Ogami's sight, Yagami found himself wondered off outside of the lair, a spot that are far away enough from the dreadful presence of that place. The stung pain on his skin caused by the holy radiance that illuminates from the great Sun Goddess on the sky was irritating without his black cloak to block it out, but he cared less to stroll back inside the dreadful lair to get it.
He had his eyes fix at the wasteland that was once filled with lush of green and life over centuries ago, before human decided to deforest and demolished the land to create more advanced city and town, forced the spirits of nature and the minor deities that are once coexisted with humans to watch as their land being taken away and return to the spirit realm with disappointment and grieves.
Yagami couldn't help it but smirked, 'Serve them right!' he thought, as the humankind finally falls by their own creations and get the taste of grieves that the fallen deities had suffered. But then, the image of the familiar pair of amethyst eyes that gaze right into his soul with disappointment, anger and sadness appeared in his mind had instantly wiped the smirk out from his face.
Out of habit, he reached his hand into his pocket, intended to fish out the object he had kept close with him all the time without the others' notice. Yagami frowned when he couldn't feel the familiar texture from his fingertips but the remain of the small string that once securely tied around the object, only then he remembered that Hatsuyuki had grabbed it by mistake when she tried to stop him from escape hours ago...
He felt his hand fell limply aside, brows furrowed at the void that is swelling in his chest at the loss of the only object he has left that reminds him of her all this time...
He had done it. Yagami thought as he ran.
He was fleeing. Fleeing after he had killed that human who took the deity he loves away from him. He should be overwhelm with triumph, rejoice and victorious after the kill, yet, he felt none of those. He was suffering the consequences that he never dreamt of or dared to face in his immortal life...
"Yagami!" That voice, calling with such immense anger and disappointment within which were never heard before. Yagami tensed as his foot stepped on a tree branch to take another strong leap away from the pursuer.
"I trusted you!" that voice, hollered with an intense rage that was never heard before...
The last time they talked with each other, her voice were so joy and happiness at the mention of a certain soul. It pained him no end to know that he wasn't the cause of the happiness she felt. It irks him even more to know that her overwhelming joy she felt was the cause a mere weak, lowly human being.
'Kill him...' a dark voice within him lured him with such tempting words...
'Kill that lowly human... And she will be all yours forever...' the dark side of his continued the venomous seduction that he knew deep inside will make him regret as long as he lives...
'Or else you will suffer the pain of seeing her being intimate with the human you detest more than anything..."
He finally gave in.
Blinded by envy, he made his move tagging along with Ogami on the very same day where the large amount of strange creatures created by human merged out of nowhere and attacked the cities and towns. When he have finally regain his senses, his blade got to taste its very first drops of human blood, with the victim laying in his own pool of blood, pressing on the fatal wound in attempt to stop it from anymore bleeding, struggling to stay alive as long as he could.
What have he done? Yagami was panicking inside out. He had broken the first golden rule of the human realm. It won't be long before he was being consumed by the dark and become a fallen...
But that was not what he really afraid of...
What he really fret of... Was the look he will receive from the female deity...
Yagami's mind instantly shut down and stared blankly at the dying human who dared to scoff at him without showing a sign of fear.
What was this human's name? He doesn't know. He never even wanted to know anything about the human who dare took the woman he love away from his grasp. But...
He spotted a delicately crafted white wooden comb lying beside the human. He remembered that it was a gift from this human's past lives to the female deity.
Yagami reach his hand to pick it up and have his heart clenched once more when he remembered the delighted look on the female deity's face every day after she received the gift from the human...
He doesn't understand... Such simple and a crude gift from a human could give her so much joy whilst she would frown upon numerous treasures and luxuries given by her countless suitors...
Lost in his thought, he wasn't paying attention of what the dying human was trying to tell him. The human has said something important him, something that would certainly change his fate if only he could swallow down his own pride and ego to heed a human's advice.
Yagami was too proud of a god to do as the human says. Hence, he chose to fled along with the wooden comb from the spot, away from the mess he had caused like a coward who dare not face the consequences of his wrong doing as soon as he sense the two older brothers of Sakaki approaches to the scene.
He fled as fast as he could with Ogami, who was weakened and severely injured after a battle with the female deity, it doesn't take more than a day for the said female deity to catch up on them with the state they're in.
He dares not look back as he ran. He doesn't want to fight her because he dared not to look at her in the eyes. He feared what he might see from the usually joyous and energetic eyes.
Once reached the border of Yomi, they have no choice but to engage another battle. And Yagami's worst fear occurred, there's no warmth remain in the female deity's eyes. Rage and disappointment that are completely directed to him stung his chest badly.
But who would've known that the female deity would go as far as sealing them while she herself was in a critical state?
"You-!" Yagami's eyes widen in both anger and surprise as he saw what was happening to the female deity as he was being bound to the rough surface of the border of Yomi.
"You would risk your own soul to be shattered to seal us for a mere human being?!" Yagami hollered. But he knows all too well that he was to blame. His pride was stopping him from apologizing for a human.
"If this is what it takes to prevent the both of you from harming any more humans, then so be it!" her voice was frighteningly calm, and the coldness held within made him held back his breath.
"You would go this far?!" Ogami laughed hysterically as he was as well trying to struggle free from the bind, "If you have such death wish, I would gladly arrange it for you! Unbind me!"
Unaffected by Ogami's words, she proceeds to chant.
"No..." Yagami voiced.
Regret. Was the only thing he felt by the time the seal cast by the female deity starting to show its effect.
No, it wasn't because of fearing that he would be sealed. It was because…
There's something he had yet able to tell her.
In the end, no words came from him as he watches her soul shattered into two; half of her soul was sealed along with them; while the rest lingered and continues to reincarnate in the dying earth to protect human for the next sixty years...
"Pride and envy are indeed the ugliest things exist," Yagami mumbled whilst his blood red eyes stared aimlessly at the wasteland, "I have learned it in a hard way. All of us have learned it in a hard way."
Several decades had passed, the last words of the human he had killed still remained crystal clear in his mine, and here he had wondered why those words doesn't reach to him during that very faithful day…
"Cowering away from what you have done…?" the human scoffed breathlessly as he held his wound, glaring straight into his eyes without a slightest fear even when he was aware that his life was coming to an end, "Don't make me laugh… Can't believe the competitor I have been worrying about is actually a chicken who is scared to admit his own wrong doings to the person he loves… I see not every deity is as straightforward as her and her crazy two brothers…"
Seeing that there's no respond from the attacker, the human let out a snort before coughing out a mouth full of blood. His brows furrowed at the sharp pain from the fatal wound and the taste of the blood, he clicked his tongue and spoke again, this time with a stronger voice, as though trying to get his words crave into Yagami's mind, haunting him, which he actually succeeded.
"I'm not a saint like her… Therefore, I will hate you for taking my life away from hers… But these are my personal grudge against you…" the human panted, "If you make her made a decision that will cause her pain and regret after my death… You will only repeat the same mistake like Tsukuyomi did to Amaterasu (1)…"
Lastly, right before Yagami turn on his heels to fled after sensing Kanzaki and Kansugi's approaching…
"If she is that important to you as she is to me… stop causing her any more pain… Stay and apologize to her…You coward..."
Yagami hung his head low, eyes clamp shut at the memories that are few decades old.
The two fallen sisters slumped themselves on the ground and leaned limply against the eerily blood matted wall once they are out of their brutal brother's sight. Hazuki and Koizumi both frighten and trembling from head to toes caused by their own older brother...
But for an unknown reason, they suddenly feel sick and disgusted by this place where they have been living for decades... And also, they feel...sad.
"Koizumi..." Hazuki's crimson eyes widen in surprise as she saw tears stream down her younger sister's red eyes that are identical to hers, "You're... Crying?"
Obviously taken aback by her older sister's statement, Koizumi doubtfully raised her hand to touch her cheek, and she was equally as surprise when her finger tips came in contact with a fresh trail of wetness leaved behind by her own tears, she was even more surprise when she found that her own older twin sister was crying as well without notice
"You're crying too..." Koizumi pointed out with her trembling hand.
"Huh?" Hazuki did the same as what her younger sister just did before, stunned when she saw the droplets of tears on her fingers tips.
Guilt from unnecessary killing, the people who they have force turned into hideous beings, shame from being fallen, and grief from not being able to live and walk under the holy sunlight of Amaterasu...
Most importantly...conscience...
They have not felt those for a very long time ever since their fall, even when they are suffering the abuse and humiliation from their very own older brother, they never wept... So why now?
"My right arm doesn't hurt anymore..." Koizumi muttered in disbelief as she felt the scorching burn caused by Hatsuyuki's amulet on her right arm eased. The burn on her whole right arm disappeared, replaced by a fine skin she used to have before she was fallen and mildly rot.
"Mine too..." Hazuki whimpered as she stared at her wrists where that Deity of Chastity grabbed and burned, "I thought she was trying to kill me by burning me, but she was actually just trying to purify me..."
But why? The sacred duty of the Deity of Chastity is to kill and banish the souls of the fallens into the depth of Yomi(2). The deity who has been assigned this task by the great Goddess Amaterasu must not show the slightest mercy to corruptions, even if the fallens happened to be someone she knows. Denying the duty means will have her very own existence spent within the Yomi along with the fallens for all eternity.
"Can we still… be saved?" Koizumi asked hesitantly. She doesn't dare to give too much hope, who would want to risk their own life to save a bunch of rotten fallen and banishing along into the eternal realm of rotten death.
"Probably not…" Hazuki stated in silent despair, "Once fallen, even if we have been purified, we still have to suffer the consequences of what we have done… Lady Amaterasu had once sternly warned us about it when we are still her apprentices…"
"B-But we…" As the consciences in them have been reawaken after the attempted purification by Hatsuyuki, Koizumi was starting to feel the fear of what she have done for the past decades, "We didn't meant to kill so many humans! If it wasn't for Ogami to did t-those to us… We won't fall! If it wasn't because of him and his endless humiliating abuses, w-we… " Koizumi sobbed relentlessly.
Both of them have always known it wasn't humans who had caused their fall. They knew well enough that not all humans are bad. But they have no choice to summit to the tempting voice of dark within them after the sudden change in personality of their older brother and the seemingly endless abuses that befall them.
"I know… If only we could turn back time," the despairing cries of her younger sister were too painful to be left unheard, "If only we could turn back time where we don't have to fight each other…" soon enough, Hazuki slumped beside the younger of the two and gave her a tight embrace, crying along with her twin sister before the dark side of them consumed their consciences again.
It's so quiet.
All his senses have been shut down.
He sees or feels anything at all for a very long time...
While he waited, waiting for his turn to be reincarnated into his next life, he prayed...
'Amaterasu, or was it Yama, the lord, and judge of the underworld... I don't care whoever it was, please hear my plea,
'I don't wish to become a deity or turning into something that would only lust for strength and blood,
'There… there must be something I could achieve to aid her as a human…
'All I want is a stronger physique, strong enough to achieve something that a normal human couldn't.'
'All this time, I wasn't able to be much help when she always has risk her life to deal with something beyond the grasp of humans… I don't want to bear the pain and frustrations for not being able to help her anymore ... So please...'
He wishes have been answered, but he has been warned that there must be a price to pay to gain something...
Which it was the life of his birth mother…
"You... Will bring joy to this world... Protect everyone from...the aragami..."
The trial of his determinations…
"You were born to rid the world of all aragami… Listen to me, exterminate them all!"
And the tests of his sanity…
"That boy. He needed 8 stitches for that wound, but his injuries have been completely healed by the next day! He can't be human!"
"He has acute hearing too. Because of what you say or else the doctor will be angry at you."
"So… is there anyone from his squad who survived?"
"Hey! Hey! I heard your mommy died because of you!"
This was the path he was chosen.
Will he rise? Or will he fall?
Soma jolted awake from his dream, gasping, soaked in cold sweat and took a quick glance around his surroundings.
Everything seemed unfamiliar until he remembered he was neither in his room or the Den. He was a shrine where Hatsuyuki has led him and the other God Eaters too.
All of them were surprised and awe struck when the teleportation was completed, that they were no longer standing at the helipad of the Den; instead, they stood before a beautiful shrine that many were sure could no longer exist on the surface of the earth that filled with hungry and gluttonous Aragami.
This shrine was beautiful and warm to the sense of holiness and peace, unlike the cold lifeless Tranquil Temple which was severely damaged by the aragami's merciless rampages and constant combats occurred.
Such sight was unrealistic. Too unreal and sudden for the humans who lives in the pre-apocalypse world to absorb and accept. But neither of them questions Hatsuyuki about anything just yet as they were being snap back to reality upon the sight of the real Kota, real Lindow and the rest of the real God Eaters rushed out to greet them and give a hand helping them to shift the injured and cursed into the shrine.
Hatsuyuki have kept her words and immediately begin to undo the curse that was struck on the infect comrades, whilst both of her older brothers, Kanzaki, and Kansugi who waits for her return in the shrine swiftly proceed to insulate the deformed beings from them and shift them to the other hall that was only a piece of slide door apart.
None question anything just yet, as they were utterly exhausted from the unfamiliar attacks, curse fright and suffering from the difficulties to adapt the bizarre facts that bombarded on them in the span of a day. That was when they decided to get a sleep to clear up their mind and digest the new situations later.
Soma took a deep breath and relaxed after he saw his fellow God Eaters sleeping soundly on the wooden floor, covered with warm quilts provided by the triplet who in charge of this shrine.
"Bad dream?" a deep silk voice that came from his back caught him off guard. Soma sharply turned his head towards the source of the sound, only the found one of triplet, Kansugi, sitting on the floor, back relaxingly leaning against the sliding door as he was guarding this hall of people from possible sudden random attacks from the deformed beings that are just a piece of wood away behind his back. Apparently the oldest of the triplet, Kanzaki, the one who wield the spear and aided him back in the Den, was guarding in the hall that filled with deformed creatures, so there's not much to be wary about. But it was for precautious.
"I guess…" Soma grumbled in reply, decided to take off his jacket since he was sweating like rain.
"You guessed?" Kansugi raised one of his brows at that, gray eyes that have a light shade of amethyst filled with curiosity.
"I don't remember what the dream was about," Soma replied yet again. Strange. He was never a person who spoke more than a few words to someone he had just met. And yet he felt familiar and comfortable to talk to this brunette, just like when he talks with Hatsuyuki about his problems.
He shouldn't felt familiar to a stranger, but then here he was, felt familiar and relax in this guy's presence more than his own dead father.
"It's all pit black and voices, so I don't really remember at all."
"I see." Kansugi hummed in respond, didn't bother to press further about his forgotten dream and switch the subject, "Well, it seems that there are not many changes in you this time either except for your darker skin color."
"What?"
"You see-"
"Don't confuse him, Sugi," A voice that was identical but slightly deep compared to Kansugi's interjected from the hall next to them. If the piece of sliding door is removed, Kansugi and Kanzaki would be leaning against each other's back.
"Just like any other humans, he won't remember his previous lives even if you told him."
'This again?' Soma thought.
"I was only voicing out my thought, it's not like I'm trying to force him to do something impossible," Kansugi shrugged, "Right, Leo?" he grinned at Soma in a friendly manner.
"Hmm," Soma responded in reflex, selectively ignored those weird terms about remembering the past or whatsoever that was stated by the guy, but frowned immediately a second later as he realized that the other guy might not be talking to him, "Leo?"
Why did he even respond to the name that wasn't his?
"Yea," Kansugi replied in behooved, didn't seem to bother the confused look on the platinum blonde's face as he continued, "That's your name, right?"
"My name is Soma Schicksal, not Leo," slight hesitation evidenced in his voice as he replied, and he had no idea why…
"Kansugi." The man who was almost identical to his younger brother warned with a stern voice from the other side of the piece of wood.
"Whoops, my bad! I'm suffering a little time disturbance." Kansugi waved his hand light-heartedly, but he doesn't look like he feels sorry at all in Soma's eyes.
"Tch, whatever…" feeling that the conversations will get weirder if he continues, Soma decided to let it slide for now and glance around the hall. Everyone was sleeping soundly and impossibly ease even though they know they are in the complete vulnerable state. Probably having a job of life and death like God Eater did the trick in polishing up the skills in quick adapting in different environments, or was it because the comfort presences of the triplet deities here are strong enough to influence the people?
Speaking of the triplet, Soma hasn't spotted the youngest of the three around since after she has done undo the curses and treated the injuries of his fellow God Eaters.
"Where's Hatsuyuki?" Soma asked as his side glanced the second oldest of triplets.
"Who?" Unexpected to Soma, Kansugi was utterly confused by the name.
Soma's brows furrowed as he repeated again with a growl, "Hatsuyuki, your younger sister! Who else am I talking about?!" Just what kind of brother on earth doesn't recognize his own sister's name?
"Oh, you mean Sakaki?" Kansugi lightly slaps his knee in the realization of who was Soma mentioned about, and smiled, "She's resting in our own room."
"Sakaki?" This time was Soma's turn to be confused and he instantly snapped his gaze toward the sleeping doctor at the corner of the hall with a deep frown before switching his gaze back to the grinning male, "What kind of brother are you to get your own sister's name wrong?"
"I won't blame you for not remembering yet again," Soma selectively ignored the emphasize of the 'yet again' part as Kansugi continued, "But her real name IS Sakaki,"
"Then Hatsuyuki…"
"That's probably the alias she used this time," it was Kanzaki who replied, this time, trying to be more straightforward to decrease any further more confusion, "If you feel more comfort of calling her by her alias, then go on. As long as you don't end up confusing yourself between her and that old guy over there, or else you might suffer."
"Agreed," Soma immediately complied, understand fully of what the other guy meant. All his nineteen years life he has been calling that old doctor 'Old man Sakaki'. It'll be rather nasty if he got used to calling Hatsuyuki by 'Sakaki' because the image of that old man's face will be the first to pop up in his mind. Soma held back a shiver from the thought of it.
"Aw, Zaki! Don't spoil my fun!" Kansugi whined playfully at his older brother.
"Fun? Sure. "Obviously annoyed, Kanzaki countered, "Start calling me Susano'o or Izanagi from now on, then you can have your fun."
Appalled by that suggestion, Kansugi turn his head aside in pure disgust and shivered, "Replacing my dear brother's handsome face that resembles mine with those two nasty old guys who don't bother to shave their dirty beards? Thanks but no thanks… "
Soma heard the man scoffed before his words came directed to him again, "I know you have tons of questions too personally ask my little sister about, but save it for tomorrow. She needs to rest."
"If I don't ask now, I might not have a chance!" Soma retorted at that. Many in this hall are ready to bombard the female deity with their own numerous questions tomorrow and he doubts that she could even spare some time to let him have a private talk with him without possible interruptions and distractions. It was either now or never!
Of course, Kanzaki and Kansugi were well aware of his dilemma.
"At ease, Leo- I mean, Soma!" Kansugi corrected himself before continue, "I bet the questions that are going to be asked by your fellow God Eaters will be general. Both of us could answer them for Sakaki without a hitch. And there you could sneak yourself out of the hall and throw your own Q&As at her 'till your heart content."
"You two are actually fine with a grown man being alone with your sister?" Soma eyed him with a doubtful gaze.
Kanzaki from the other side snorted, "Grown man? Wary of you, you say? You should look at yourself," the tone of his voice changed from vapid to taunting, "You're not even the half of a man you once was,"
"And you said I shouldn't waste my energy to say something that he won't remember…" Kansugi grumbled, but it was ignored by his older brother, and Soma was too absorbed by Kanzaki's words to pay heed of him even with his good hearing.
"You are just a little kid who doesn't know what to do with his own life."
"Huh?!" Offended, Soma found his own voice raised along with Kanzaki's taunting.
"You seriously think that I will afraid a man who set his mind on dying on the battlefield one day for his whole life could do harm to my sister?"
"I have to stop thinking of that for a long time, don't talk like you have known me for life!"
"Really?" Kanzaki questioned with doubt, "Then tell me, once all these conflicts of deity have ended, what do you intend to do? Continue to take orders from your higher ups and fight those monsters until the day you die?"
"It is my job as a God Eater to do the fighting while those scientists will be the one who search for better solutions!"
"But have they found a solution without the need to harm the innocent human, though? As far as I remembered, those scientists have done and created something that had brought more harm than good."
Soma stunned right that moment. Of course, he knew what to another man was implying. The Devouring Apocalypse and that very first mission he had went soon after he officially became a God Eater. Both of that ideas came from his own father and other unnamed scientists, and both of that projects have sacrificed more lives than many of them could count. If he was the one who was in charge in their stead, he would definitely…
Him? In their stead? Where did that idea come from?
Hearing no more retorts from the platinum blond, Kanzaki deemed that he had hinted and said more than enough, "You have the physical advantage, and you definitely have a good brain, are you sure you want to let those go to waste without achieving something greater for the sake of others?"
Could he do that? Soma pondered.
"That's enough for now; I have talked more than needed." Kanzaki sighed and tone down his voice, shooting warning glare towards a particularly deformed being that is trying to either escape or attack before binding it down with a silver thread that materialized in his hand.
"The hint was on the moon if you understand what I'm implying, the pain which Sakaki have been suffering could be eased. Don't disappoint me." He said one last time before his younger brother convinced Soma back to sleep.
Having his mind being puzzled with questions swarming in his mind; Soma was easily being talked into sleep by Kansugi. Knowing that the both of Hatsuyuki's brothers would not let him talk to the female deity just yet, he had no choice but comply.
'Someone like me could actually do something greater than being on the front line? Will that actually help someone like a deity like her?' Soma have given a deep thought to drift back into sleep, 'If that so, what could I do to ease her pain?'
This time, he dreamt of nothing.
But a voice that was identical to his echoed in his mind.
Little that he know for now, that it was a wish he had made across time…
'All I want is a stronger physique, strong enough to achieve something that a normal human couldn't.'
'All this time, I wasn't able to be much help when she always has risk her life to deal with something beyond the grasp of humans… I don't want to bear the pain and frustrations for not being able to help her anymore ... So please...'
Once confirmed that everyone was asleep and deformed spirits are securely bound up. The two elder of the triplets decided to step out from the halls to catch some fresh air.
"We have been siblings for forever, and yet you have never changed that way you cared," Kansugi chuckled and his older brother who walked out from the hall he was guarding and took a seat beside him at the open-air corridor, watching as the pale moon hanging high up in the dark sky.
"That goes without saying," Kanzaki smirked, shifting into a more comfortable position to sit, "But do you think he will get what I meant?"
"Oh, I bet he would," Kansugi grinned, "He is the human our little sis chose to be with after all."
"Then he better," Kanzaki huffed.
"Well, we couldn't expect human to remain exact the same every time they reincarnate," Kansugi replied, "But he was by far the only one who was able to keep most of his traits, especially the trait that he could find his way back to Sakaki even if he happened to born half an earth away from her. That's good enough."
"Yea…"
"Say…" Kansugi said as he pointed to the moon above, "Are you sure it is okay that we don't gather that last piece of the soul of Sakaki's?"
"No, she had told us to leave that one be," Kanzaki replied as he was trying to spot a sole figure that was strolling alone on the moon, "Even if we get it back, it could no longer go back to Sakaki since it has completely morphed into a different individual."
"But we could at least get it down from there…"
"Sakaki have decided leave it there as a motivation for Soma," Kanzaki stated, "It's for the best. If he wants to get that aragami girl back from the moon, he better start working hard on something else instead of just taking orders and fight those monsters like a puppet for his whole life."
"Holy gracious! You were actually trying to hint him just now that he could cheat on our sister?! How could you! Shame on you! " Kansugi paled and back away from his older brother with pure shock, only to receive a heavy smack on his head by a very mad Kanzaki.
"No, I didn't!" Kanzaki growled, "And that's our little sister's love life you just jinx about, so stop jinxing!"
Sitting side by side, the two of them would be exactly identical if it weren't for different length and style of hair and slightly different built. Unlike their youngest sister's deep shades of amethyst eyes, both of them have grey eyes with only a little shade of purple; like their younger sister, the two of them have same shade of brown hair, but with Kansugi have shoulder length hair with shorter fringe covered slightly to the right, while Kanzaki's have ear length hair with much longer fringe that partially covered his left eye. Due to being more of a close combat spear wielder, Kanzaki was physically shown to be slightly muscular than lean compare to Kansugi who was a far range fighter with superb marksmanship.
Hatsuyuki, Kanzaki and Kansugi may be triplets that shares different personalities and characteristics, but there are still things that have never change even after all these years of enduring numerous separations and obstacles…
It was they remained the closest siblings in the whole world and the fact that they have never once hate a single human no matter what the latter have done…
(1)One of the Japanese myth have told that the two great Kami (means 'god' in Japan), Amaterasu(Goddess of Sun) and Tsukuyomi(God of Moon) used to share and lived in the same sky. But one day, Tsukuyomi have killed a goddess out of pure disgust (you can google and search for the complete version of the story), and in the end upset Amaterasu. Hence, Amaterasu banished Tsukuyomi to forever stay out of her sight after deeming latter as an evil deity. In the end, the Sun and the Moon never met each other since.
What the dying human (You should know who he was by now) trying to say was, the Yagami who fatally wounded him during that moment was just like Tsukuyomi who have killed the goddess who offended him (in Yagami's case, it was out of jealously and detest for human, but still the same motive). If Yagami refuses to cast away his ego pride and properly apologize and explain himself to Sakaki (Hatsuyuki), he will definitely regret it and being banish to Yomi by her without knowing why he have actually done it, just like how Amaterasu have banished Tsukuyomi to be forever out of her sight.
(2)Yomi: Is the name of the underworld where Izanami (Goddess of Dark/ She who welcomes) resided in Japanese myth. Unlike the typical Hell where bad people go after their death to suffer in the afterlife until their sins being completely wash away and get to reincarnate into the next life, once went into the Yomi, that means you will never get out from there, and will rot in the Yomi for all eternity.
(2.5)as for the second kind of hell which most Japanese beliefs in was the Underworld in Buddhism. After a person's death, their souls will be sent in to the underworld by the two messengers in charge (We called them Ox-Head and Horse-Face (I just write them as 'Death' in this fiction)) to be sentenced by the Judge of the Underworld, Yama, according to the deeds they have done during the time they are alive. It they are good, they will be allowed to reincarnate immediately without needing to suffer in hell; if they are bad, they will be plunge into hell to face their punishments in afterlife until they are permitted to reincarnate after their sins have been washed through divine punishments.
A/N:
Finally! Chapter 8 was up!
The plots behind the fallen's' attacks and their past have slightly revealed.
Hatsuyuki's two mysterious brothers finally made an appearance! /Woohoo!
And what actually were Kanzaki and Kansugi trying hint Soma to do?
Review and tell me what you think about this chapter, or else I would never know :)