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Akatsuki Yamatoya. Madman Entertainment, Manga Entertainment, Funimation, and/or others. This is a work of fanfiction, for no monetary gain.
A/N:
I've reached 1,225 views for this story! Thanks to everyone who has viewed, reviewed, favorited and followed this story so far. Don't be shy! Let me know what you think! And for all you Crona and Ragnarok fans out there, be sure to return next Thursday for Chapter 8 – Confessions: Good for the Soul?
Chapter 7 – The God's Tears: Do You Know the Story?
Stein and Nygus already had the Auxiliary Infirmary prepped and ready, all three dozen of the beds it contained. Thankfully it was empty of patients before they entered. The two immediately insisted that everyone needed to lie down and undergo thorough examinations and whatever treatment they declared necessary.
Kid was too exhausted to argue, though first he made certain Mifune and Angela would be tended to with equal vigor and attention. Mifune tried to insist he was fine, but Nygus soon had him in a bed next to Angela's.
"Don't ever disappear like that again," Soul scolded Kid, from the bed on his right. Patty was on his left, but Liz was still in the main infirmary.
"I don't intend to," Kid assured him.
"Maka and Black*Star were really worried about you," Soul stressed.
"What about you and Tsubaki?" Kid asked curiously.
"Nah. We knew you'd be fine," Soul claimed, as Stein examined him.
"Give me a break. You were so worried about him you were all but crying like a little girl," Black*Star accused.
"Just what are you implying about girls, with a line like that?" Maka demanded, as her father hovered over her.
"Showing you care about your friends isn't a weakness, Black*Star. Strong men aren't afraid to reveal their feelings," Tsubaki scolded from her own bed, to Kid's relief. She was conscious again and couldn't be too gravely injured, if she sounded so strong.
"Men, maybe, but Gods don't cry," Black*Star claimed stubbornly, as Nygus cleaned the worst of his wounds.
"Then I guess you've never heard the legend of how the oceans were formed," Mifune said unexpectedly, from his bed across the aisle from Kid, where he could see him and Angela easily.
"What do you mean?" Black*Star asked, sounding surprisingly respectful and intrigued, unlike he usually did when someone disagreed with him about what it meant to be a God.
"Long, long ago, when the earth was still new, a pure, happy place full of life and hope, there were four Gods: the Goddess of Life, the God of Death, the God of the Sun and the God of the Moon. Death, the Sun and the Moon all fell in love with Life, and wanted to woo her, to make her their own," Mifune intoned, the attention of everyone in the room suddenly focusing upon him. Kid could tell even Stein and Nygus were listening, as they worked.
"The arrogant Sun told Life that she should pick him to be her husband, because there could not be life without him. Without his light, plants could not grow, animals would have nothing to eat, and humans nothing to harvest or hunt. The proud Moon told Life his gifts were more precious, because he gave men the gift of dreams, relieving their minds and hearts from memory of hunger and their weary toil under the hot sun for food and happiness.
"Humble and somber Death listened to both of his rivals and knew he could never compete with either for Life's affections, for he provided neither food nor sleep, but only an end to both toils and dreams. He was the opposite of Life, destroying all she created. Knowing he could never ask Life for her hand, he fled to the opposite side of the world, intending to remain there for all eternity, alone and apart from his fellow Gods. And in his loneliness and despair, he began to weep.
"Day after day, night after night he cried, in endless sorrow, until the valleys filled with his tears, the plains flooded with them and the mountains drowned under them, until he created a vast ocean, and the sea of his tears threatened to inundate the whole world.
"'The God of Death has covered two thirds of the world in his salty tears! Salted fields cannot grow plants, such water cannot sustain life. We cannot allow this to continue, or the entire world will be rendered lifeless. We must combine our powers and destroy him, lest he submerge and destroy the world,' the God of the Moon urged belligerently.
"'You must choose between us, now, Life. The uncertainty only fuels his despair. Once you have chosen, and all hope is lost to him, he will finally accept it is his fate to be alone,' the Sun urged more passively, for he had been a jovial fellow, before the constant vying began for Life's hand.
"'Come with me. I must speak with the three of you together one last time, before announcing my decision,' the Goddess of Life proclaimed. For although she was earthbound, she had observed what the Sun and the Moon high in the sky overhead did not see.
"The Gods of the Sun and Moon eagerly agreed, each confident he was the one who would be chosen. And so the three of them sailed across the enormous new sea.
"As he crossed the great ocean, the God of the Sun stared in breathless amazement and awe, as he saw what he had not noticed from his perch in his home on the Sun, so high overhead. His light illuminated school after school of fish swimming in what he had thought were lifeless waters, and pods of enormous whales, far larger than anything that lived upon the land, consuming the fish, while even larger whales strained tiny krill from the water.
"The absurdity of it, the disparity of it all, that the largest survived because of the tiniest, that the sea he had thought lifeless instead teemed with life, made him smile. Then a pod of dolphins began to race their ship, cavorting and frolicking and laughing as they gave chase, without a care as to who was fastest, making him laugh. All this time he had been so consumed with his competition with Death and the Moon for Life, that he had forgotten how to enjoy his own existence. He had thought only the Goddess of Life could bring him happiness, but had forgotten that true happiness comes not from without, but from within.
"'I shall return,' the God of the Sun promised, as he rose again into the sky, to his home. And now he looked down at the world below him and truly saw it for the first time. He had been blind to the many ways Death fuels life, how dead leaves and grass fertilize the soil, how dead animals provide food for other animals and insects, how even the remains in their excrement fertilize the soil and plants it sustains. And now there was also the sea, and all its bounty, to sustain far more life than ever before.
"The Sun God returned to the ship, light of heart and joyous in his decision. 'Though I feed the plants of the land and even the plankton of the sea with the warmth of my rays, I cannot compete with a treasure such as this. Water is life. The bounty the God of Death has provided is a fitting dowry for the Goddess of Life. I withdraw my bid as your suitor, gentle Goddess, and instead urge you to choose the God of Death as your husband.'
"The God of the Moon scoffed at the God of the Sun, though he was relieved to have the one he viewed as his only true adversary removed from the competition. The Moon God denigrated the Sun's foolish claim, until the Sun God shook his head and rose back into the sky.
"'I choose to be happy, and I warn you, one day your biting tongue will be the end of you. Jealousy and bitterness lead only to sorrow. Be content with your palace in the sky and your dreams, and leave the world to Life and Death.' The God of the Sun refused to let the darkness of the Moon shroud him, and basked in the life below, laughing in renewed joy and wonder at the world.
"Unfortunately, the God of the Moon ignored the God of the Sun's wise counsel, and continued to malign the God of Death, until the Goddess of Life could bear it no longer. 'With every word you fall ever farther from my favor. I had thought to at least remain your friend, but I cannot abide by one as petty and vicious as you. Bite your tongue!' she snapped in frustration.
"When the God of the Moon belatedly realized he had alienated the one he was trying to woo, he was desperate to regain her favor. So he bit his tongue, as she had commanded, so hard that it bled, but seeing it, instead of being appeased, she turned from him.
He wiped the blood from his chin, and stared at his bloody hands and then at her perfect neck. And that is when the God of the Moon went mad. He lunged forwards, and tore out her throat with his teeth, so she could not tell Death she had chosen him instead, in a desperate attempt to forever keep her from Death's embrace. And bleeding and voiceless, the Goddess of Life toppled into the sea of Death's tears.
"The God of the Moon stared in horror at the growing cloud of blood in the water, and fled to his palace on the Moon, consumed by his madness, his face drenched in Life's blood, mingled with his own, fulfilling the God of the Sun's grim prophecy.
"But all was not lost, because as the mortally wounded Goddess of Life sank into the ocean, Death was instantly drawn to her in her final moments and embraced her, ravaged by grief yet bright with hope.
"'In death there is life and in life there is death, for all who live must die, but death fuels new life. Life and Death have never been two, but have always ever been one. Join with me now, my beloved other half, so that we may become whole,' they spoke, in unison, though Life could only soundlessly voice the words.
In that moment, Life and Death were reunited, and the world was filled with balance and harmony. And that is why Death Gods never need marry, for they carry the seed of Life within them. The Lines of Sanzu are the proof that Life dwells always within Death," Mifune concluded.
There was a moment of silence as each of them contemplated the story.
"That's beautiful, but kind of dark," Maka commented.
"The truth often is," Mifune stated grimly.
"The God of the Moon should have been punished," Black*Star stated.
"His punishment is dwelling in eternal madness, forever doomed to see the happiness he tried to destroy. The words 'lunacy' and 'lunatic' both come from his given name, Luna. He lives in eternal dishonor, the blood of his crime on display for all the world to see," Mifune replied.
"I'd never heard that story before. We could use classes in Eastern Mythology, History and Culture. We only teach the Western versions here. Have you ever thought of teaching?" Nygus asked, as she tended to Kid.
"Death the Kid suggested I teach here, and Lord Death seems to approve of the idea," Mifune replied.
"Really?" Nygus asked in surprise. "That's wonderful."
Kid was happy everyone seemed willing to welcome Mifune and Angela. When it was his turn to be tended by Stein, he asked when he could see Liz. He had to ask twice before Stein responded. The Meister seemed unusually pensive, as if he were preoccupied with something. Maybe it was just the number and severity of the injuries he was treating. They hadn't had this many casualties since the war with Asura. It was likely stirring up bad memories.
"Liz is resting now. But she's out of danger. After we're done treating all of you, we'll bring her bed in here, so she can be with you and Patty when she wakes up. None of you are to get out of bed until I approve it," Stein insisted. Then he frowned at the complex ward on Kid's cast. "Is this some sort of healing magic?" he asked mistrustfully.
"It's Healing and Protection," Angela piped up from her bed across the aisle from Kid, where she was propped in a seated position. "I already set the bones in his hand, and used some of my magic to start them healing right, but there was a lot of damage. Charging the ward I made protected him but it's also helping him heal faster. You shouldn't remove the cast for at least two weeks."
"Only two weeks?" Stein asked in surprise.
Angela nodded, even as her hands gently stroked the orange tabby cat in her lap. "Is it alright to use spell magic here? Are there wards against it? I don't have the strength to fight against them if there are, and Marmalade helped save everyone. I need to begin healing him. He lost his littermate and was in despair, but he's agreed to become my familiar."
Stein frowned at her as if he was about to object, but Spirit said, "Lord Death trusts you and is grateful for all you've done for his son, Angela. You can use your healing magic."
"Thank you!" Angela cried in delight, beaming at him. Then she turned her attention to the cat.
"Be careful not to overdo it, Angela," Mifune cautioned.
"I'll be careful," she promised her bodyguard, and then she concentrated on the cat, which was soon bathed in gentle orange light.
Spirit headed over to Kid's bed. "How are you doing, Kid?"
"I'm fine." Kid bit his lip. "Has there been any word from Justin?"
"No, not yet, but he'll be fine. He's stronger than you know," Spirit assured him.
"I don't think you realize how much danger he's in. I need to tell you and my father what Giriko said," Kid said quietly. He didn't want the others to know.
"Do you have an idea where they might be?" Spirit asked hopefully.
"No. But Giriko is obsessed with Justin, in a particularly bad way, and he said some really sick, vile, twisted things. I want to see my father," Kid demanded.
"If Kid uses a wheelchair, is it OK if he leaves here for a bit? Just for a little while. He can speak to his father and then stop in and see Liz on the way back," Spirit suggested.
"Alright. Just don't let him strain himself," Stein reluctantly agreed, still sounding unusually distracted.