Everyone was utterly and completely deranged.
Kaguya didn't know when she gained that 'epiphany'. It was a miracle, really, that she managed to see the truth eventually. After all, nothing was more difficult to see through lies if you were taught the lies were real this entire time.
Kill the enemies. Who were enemies? Naturally, everyone the clan deemed to be enemies. And the clan had a lot of enemies. Anyone who opposed them and their Divine Heavenly Right. There were no victims. Only targets, to be destroyed. Loyalty to the bloodline. Let the urge to destroy, to devour, to annihilate, consume you completely. For there was no greater ecstasy, no greater justice, than to be strong and untouchable by the vermin beneath you.
Back then, she believed her skills to murder, her talent in it, was the personification of justice. Following orders of the leaders of the clans, who followed the Divine Will, she was a tool of righteousness, her young body a sword to cut down evil itself. The tears of her opponents were fake. Their cries for mercy mere lies. Over and over, she was told such, and over and over, she told herself. The ache in her heart was just the despair of the seemingly infinite enemies. The bloodstains sticking to her hands in her mind's eye were marks of pride, not guilt, for her eternal duty.
Kaguya didn't know when she gained that 'epiphany'. She knew however, who was responsible for making it rise to the forefront of her mind. She was a genius amongst geniuses. Her siblings, her clan, only sang praises of her. The elders looked upon her with pride, with longing. Thus, she was given the most important mission.
The heretic goddess Amaterasu was getting too prideful for her meager status. Thus, young Kaguya was given the task to eliminate her rising star. The man, the weak pacifist, who talked about peace and cooperation, like the weakling he was. It should've been an easy mission. No one was better at killing mere mortals than her. Unfortunately, or rather fortunately, what she faced that day, was not a mortal.
It was a monster. Kaguya never got even close to Ryoma that day. She wasn't even sure if Ryoma was even aware of the assassination attempt.
Her technique, the basics taken to the extremes. Her keen insight and skill handling the blade. Her bloodlust guiding her instinct, aiming for each gap possible. All of the things she relished in, took pride in, were utterly crushed by the overwhelming power of the Mizuchi. Not only that…it was done like it was an afterthought. The impassive expression of Oryou would haunt Kaguya to this day. As her skin and even her hair was sturdy enough to block her blade, her a casual knock with her knuckles was enough to send her flying. She coughed up blood back then, before accepting her fate.
Her fate as the weak, as the enemy, to be struck down by the justice of the strong. However…nothing happened. She opened her eyes, only to see Oryou idly play with the mask the assassin wore, before throwing it back at her. And then she just…turned around. Not a hint of the pressure, of the looming shadow of a massive monstrous snake hanging over her head. That dismissal hurt more than any cracked bones, than any wound that Kaguya had.
"Why won't you kill me?!"
It was surprising, looking back, that Oryou even bothered to turn around that day. The woman tilted her head in utter confusion, as if the question that Kaguya asked was incomprehensible.
"...Because it's wrong?"
As if she was quoting someone else. As if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Something broke in Kaguya, the words echoing in her soul over and over, eating away at the self imposed chains.
"I am weak! The loser! It's your right, no, your duty, to kill me!"
"It's not." She shrugged dismissively. "Oryou decides who she kills. And Oryou decides there is no point to kill you. You are just a child. No threat to Oryou or Ryoma." Once more, she turned around, this time never looking back as she approached the building that her husband was in. "Oryou can just ignore and forget about you and go on with her life."
And ignore she did. Oryou never hunted Kaguya down. Chased after her after all this. Left her alone with…with her thoughts. And with the pressure of death, of the strongest of the Far East gone…the girl was left alone with her thoughts.
The greatest punishment of all, as the veil was taken off her eyes.
Because it's wrong.
She was just a child.
Kaguya remembered. The other 'just children' she took out. As emotional torture. As punishment. As targets of opportunity. They were all wrong. And yet, Kaguya did it anyway. Because she was following orders. Because she was a mere flesh vessel for the will of the Gojouno. It would have been so simple, if Kaguya could have just accepted those facts as truth.
Alas, she was but a girl. A girl, no matter how hard she tried, was not perfect. She was not a doll with no emotions. Instead… the young child was more of a monster than the Serpent of the Far East. It was a hilarious realization. It was a soul crushing realization. All the denial crumbled down, as she screamed her voice hoarse, clawing at her own face as the real thoughts, the young and innocent thoughts of a child, finally resurfaced from her locked heart…and judged her for her sins she had committed. By being an obedient, loyal child, giving in to her urges like a disgusting animal. Killing and slaughtering. Over and over and over, until her very being was drenched in blood.
Maybe the heavens were looking fondly at her that day. Or maybe they desired to extend her punishment by letting her live. For failure in a mission meant punishment worse than death. And that day, after Oryou left, there was a ship loading up crates. One of which was perfectly empty, just right for her size. Her mind was still in chaos. Still in guilt and self hatred, for the twisted deeds she did for that so called justice. Still ashamed of her own clan for encouraging the growth into a monster.
And yet, her body moved. It yearned to live. And that day, Kaguya fled the Far East, leaving the trail of blood behind her as far as possible. To start anew…to find proper justice and make up for her sins and the sins of her bloodline.
Maybe if she told herself that over and over again in her head, her heart would believe her delusions and lies as well.
/
If there was perhaps one thing she missed from her home country, it was actually authentic Far Eastern cuisine. The immigrants in Orario tried their best, but there were limits to how 'good' a proper takoyaki could be with imported ingredients. It was a good thing everyone else was distracted by the taste or they would've saw her small tears in her eyes before she forced them away. Nevertheless, as they followed the Far East's most popular couple and their baby, Kaguya couldn't help but feel her throat clench up with each step she was taking. On the one hand…the air reminded her of easier times. Sleeping in a futon with her loved ones, it brought forth images where she truly was just an innocent girl with her siblings, playing around in their own bedroom. Strolling through the streets without a care, before that innocence was taken, twisted and turned into weapons. Kaguya didn't even know if anyone else from her direct family survived besides Nana. Did they end up in situations like hers, only against a less merciful opponent than the Mizuchi? Staring at the mother coddling her child, the warmth clear in her eyes despite her stoic expression, it was hard to see the resemblance to the terror that brought her down.
Oryou kept her word. She truly didn't remember Kaguya, the little assassin, despite having seen her face. She couldn't help but let out a small scoff at that. Looking back, she truly was arrogant, as a child. She should consider herself lucky that Oryou wasn't in a particular murderous mood. Either that or she might have an actual soft spot for children. It had to be that, since from what she heard, other assassins suffered way worse fates than the slight roughing up she had received back then. Especially that story of Bell, where she purposefully let someone power up only to quite literally spinebreak them. Yes, lucky her. The murderer. The coward. The-
"You alright?"
Kaguya forced herself to exhale, only her hand twitching a bit before suppressing her urge to draw her blades. She showed a weary smile towards Arash who walked next to her. She didn't even realize that they were trailing behind everyone else at this point. She rubbed her forehead before closing her eyes. Here she thought she was mentally prepared for this homecoming. Showed her what she knew, ha.
"Well, there's a reason I left my home." She shook her head. "Suffice to say, the sooner we are done with this, the better."
"If this is too much for you-"
Kaguya couldn't help but snarl for a moment.
"Arash. I'm already here. And I stick to what I said." She grit her teeth before letting out a huff. She lowered her head a bit, ashamed she allowed the rabid beast within her to show its hide once more. "But…thanks."
If he noticed, he didn't show it. Instead, he just gave her an understanding nod. She couldn't help but chuckle at that. Always the good guy, always a listening ear.
"Y'know, I was against you getting recruited into the Familia. Same with a couple of the other girls. Wasn't official, but we all thought we were gonna be all female only. Less drama that way." She pointed at him with a smirk. "Fortunately, you have the libido of a dead rock."
It was a good thing too. Plenty of girls in the Familia were into him, but the crushes died instantly when he showed no interest. Instead, they had to settle on the eye candy that was his well toned body. Not that she could blame them, he was well built. Seeing her eyeing him in such a teasing manner, he crossed his arms with a small frown.
"Now that's just rude."
"So you saying you aren't a virgin?"
He pointedly looked forward as he let out a sigh.
"I make no comment about that."
"People who say that usually confirm suspicions."
She relished receiving that small glare of his. Sometimes it felt like he was out of reach. These little moments reminded her that for all his ludicrous speed in growth and potency as an archer, there was still a human man under that exterior. She was shaken out of her musings when Ryoma adjusted his hat as he came to a stop.
"Alright, we're here."
The girls couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at the rather humble establishment before them. Lyra sniffed the air once before tilting her head.
"A sushi shop? We just had breakfast."
"It's what's underneath the shop that's important."
At Ryoma's explanation Alise couldn't help but snort before twirling her hand at the location.
"A basement meeting? Really? You guys do know that has major bad guy vibes, right?"
Ryuu bonked her captain over the head with wooden sword. As she let out a yelp, the elf let out a hiss.
"Alise, can we at least try to be professional?"
"Yeaaah, that died with the way we arrived here," Kaguya responded, still tasting the salt water as she gave the amazon among them a pointed look. A pointed look the bitch elected to ignore, with her arms crossed and staring at the place before entering first. Astraea chuckled, patting Kaguya on the head before she would perform some physical violence.
"Well, we can always try."
…They were all lucky their goddess was with them or else Kaguya would have much less reason to be restrained. Following the group, they quickly moved past the counter down a hidden set of stairs. Kaguya couldn't help but hum thoughtfully. Maybe captain had a point about the bad guy vibes.
It did not help that once they arrived at the poorly lit room, the occupants of the round table did not inspire the most morally upright impression.
"What took ya so long? Here we are bein' gracious hosts and ya make us wait! A whole ass day at that!"
Yellow hooded male barely hiding his green strands of hair was never a good first sign. Not to mention the way he had his hands in his jacket pockets and his legs thrown up on the table. At least the long haired albino woman seemed to have a bit more manners, but she appeared to be even supportive of her god's actions. Tsukuyomi meanwhile was an all too familiar face, as well as her child Shiki. She covered her mouth with her fan, an amused glint in her eyes.
"Crude as my colleague is, you did arrive yesterday. And yet, you did not come before us."
At that point, Amaterasu slammed her hands on the table, the petite goddess bristling up as Ryoma and Oryou took their positions behind her silently.
"Oh, get off your high horses, they deserve to get some free time before having to meet you guys!"
Hachiman raised his arm calmly after shaking his head at his own child. Dressed in a traditional robe that was more in place at a noble court, the black haired braided man took a step back.
"This is too early for this, Amaterasu."
She puffed up her cheeks before crossing her arms and sitting back down on her chair.
"Fine, fine!"
Astraea took her seat at the table, as well as Penthesilea. Standing behind their goddess protectively, Lyra leaned towards Kaguya, covering her mouth as she whispered.
"They always like this?"
"Don't look at me, I haven't been here for ages," Kaguya hissed back, her eyes not leaving the leading factions of the Far East. She was never a politically versed person and seeing this circus, she was glad she wasn't. How Ryoma didn't die from an aneurysm yet was a miracle and she sent him a subtle nod, to which he gave her a wry smile.
Surprisingly, the focus wasn't entirely on the Astraea Familia despite the earlier jabs at their 'lateness'. Instead the albino behind Susanoo hummed thoughtfully. The Divine Priestess Kushinada tilted her head, covering her mouth with her palm.
"I did not hear about the great Asura being a part of this."
"Situations change," Penthesilea responded with a gruff tone, her attitude unnerved by the attention of the gods. Leaning back on her chair, she motioned with her head at the individuals behind her. "As for our tardiness, blame them. They had to fix up their injuries and they were stingy with their potions."
"Whose fucking fault was it that we got injured in the first place?" Kaguya asked in a flat tone. Alise and Ryuu pinched her arms, but she ignored the minor pain in favor of sending a glare at the Asura. Said woman had the gall to smirk at them.
"Yours. For your inability, obviously." She glanced back at the table as she tapped her left arm. "Then again, we could blame the locals for their horrible medical care."
The air grew cold immediately at the insulting words.
"If you weren't level seven I would make you kow tow for that disrespect, Asura," Gentle Fist Ren said in a low tone behind the god of martial arts. Penthesilea merely leaned forward at that, showing her teeth, almost in invitation.
"And that attitude is why no one will remember you."
Ryoma clapped his hands before the situation could escalate any more. An awkward laugh escaped him while Oryou completely tuned out the conversation, slowly rocking her child in her arms.
"Ooooookay, enough small talk. Time for business. We all gathered here today, to handle who we assume is a high ranking executive of Evilus' structure. More specifically, the right hand of the Night Queen."
Nana. Kaguya bit the inside of her mouth to avoid showing any emotions. She tried to dismiss the looks she received, instead keeping an apathetic expression, focusing on the facts and information she could receive. Amaterasu on the other hand had no such qualms to reveal what she felt.
"A Gojouno at that." She raised a pointed eyebrow at her fellow goddess. "Care to share, Tsukiyomi?"
She folded her fan, pointing it at Amaterasu in return with a dismissive scowl.
"For the last time, I have hired their services, yes, but that is it. Internal clan affairs and the rumors of their extinction are unrelated to me."
"And yet you had a hand in the slave trade," Hachiman pointed out, mouth thinning ever so slightly. Tsukoyomi's eye twitched. Whether from guilt or annoyance, Kaguya wasn't sure. Whatever the case was however, it loosened her grip on her rationality, because her following words made her and her Familia's eyes widen.
"Victimless crimes. I did it for the greater good."
Amaterasu's face grew scarlet red with anger. Even Hachiman showed his distaste openly as he exhaled slowly.
"Greater good?! You bitch, you-"
This time, Shiki stepped forward, cutting the divine being off as she cut her arm through the air.
"The alternatives are actual civilians, weak goddess! Our lady made sure only the worst of criminals were taken!"
With one mortal stepping forward, another took a step as well. Ren let out a sarcastic laugh, unfitting for his noble appearance before he pointed at the offending party.
"Spoken like a true coward. Instead of submitting to that foreign force, we could've joined our hands to expel them. But alas, the great Familia of the moon is too great for something foolish like cooperation."
Surprisingly, Susanoo leaned forward with a sneer, putting his feet down from the table.
"Oi, take care of how you speak to her. Sure, they fucked up, but they did something at least, unlike you pacifistc and martial arts fucks."
At this point, Kaguya had her hands in reach for her own weapons. Calling this a pot boiling over was an understatement. To her relief, her Familia wasn't too far off from preparing themselves as well. Especially as the martial artist of the Hachiman Familia took on a battle stance, fist aimed at the god.
"You dare?!"
That action caused a chain reaction. At once, weapons were drawn and a standoff occured as they pointed their tools of combat at each other.
"Lower your hands, Gentle Fist, you court death!" Kushinada sneered, an expression similar to her gods as any mask of politeness was burned away for bloodlust. "You want to experience this mommy's wrath, brat?!"
"If you want to exchange pointers, I'm right here!"
"Pah, as usual, you have eyes but can't see-"
The quiet whine did not interrupt Shiki. Instead it was the oppressive aura that was summoned forth right after. Nobody could breath. Nobody dared to move. There was no intent to kill, no threat whatsoever. But without even changing her posture, Oryou stared with glowing eyes at everyone. As a warning.
"Shut it."
Sometimes an eerie calm amidst conflict was more terrifying than anything else. She gently shushed as her son stopped being uneasy, relaxing once more in her warmth. Her soft smile fell off the instant she looked up again, tilting her head ever so slightly as her eyes were wide open, intending to catch any suspicious movement.
"If Ohma cries, Oryou will make you all cry." She then turned to Arash, who let out a breath of relief as he stopped reaching for his bow. She glanced at said bow before nodding at him. "Arash, do your border thing. It ends 'Conflict', doesn't it?"
Ryoma almost choked on something. Penthesilea looked at her as if she was insane. And Arash had his mouth slightly open before closing it. All while everyone else was utterly clueless, their anger forgotten in exchange of looking between the parties. Arash cleared his throat before raising his hand awkwardly.
"Okay, first of all, that is a massive simplification. Second of all, the situation is a bit different."
Penthesilea rolled her eyes before raising her hand herself, counting off with her fingers.
"Third of all, it'd kill everyone in this room and anyone in a two thousand kilometer range. Fourth of all, you'd die doing that, if I recall correctly."
"Yeah, so let's not, alright?" Oryou looked at her husband, blinking slowly.
"Bad?"
Ryoma in turn nodded back at her with a flat look.
"Bad."
The Mizuchi lowered her head like a scolded child, ruining whatever threatening presence she had before.
"Oh."
"What in the fuck are you people even talking about?" Susanoo muttered, words that everyone agreed with as they slowly nodded. Yet Kaguya, or more specifically, Astraea Familia, looked wide eyed at Arash's back specifically. A heavy weight grew in their guts, as suspicion grew in their minds. Kaguya bit her lip as she started to connect the dots.
Were they talking about Stella? It was the only thing that made sense. She had no idea about the whole 'end conflict' nonsense they were talking about…but in terms of destructiveness, that magic was the only thing that made sense. The world worked on equivalent exchange after all. The more you paid, the more you would get.
It was quite shocking, to find out about that part of his Falna. It was the first time she saw Ryuu ever so horrified before. Same as everyone else. After all, magic represented the ideal of fantasy within one's mind. A dream, a goal, something along those lines. So the fact that Arash's spell required him to die had concerning implications to say the least. Astraea naturally forbid the usage of that spell and hid it away from official reports immediately. And yet…Arash was utterly calm about it. Making a promise that he would not use it unless necessary.
He would not budge on the necessary part until this day. Not even when Ryuu begged him to never use it. Not even when she cried. Not even then.
Kaguya blinked away the memory, staring at the ground as she rubbed her temple at the growing headache she was feeling. Wait, but all that talk would imply Arash actually used that…and died…but then he wouldn't be…Kaguya growled. Ah, fuck it, this wasn't important anyway!
"Nevermind that," Penthesilea said, changing the topic with the grace of a drunk Goliath. She sneered at the table, head tilted backwards a bit. "I was under the impression I would be meeting the strongest warriors the Far East has to offer." She sighed, spreading her arms open. "Instead I am surrounded by quarreling children. Either kill each other or have peace. End of story."
By that point, Ryoma managed to find his groove again. He pulled out a map for everyone and spread it open on the table as he leaned forward with a serious expression.
"As…rude as the ladies are, they are right. This is not the time." He tapped the table a few times. "Preferably there would never be a time. Let's just focus on the actual terrorists and then we can go from there, alright?" He turned to the hooded god with a respectful nod. "Lord Susanoo, you said you had information to share?"
The storm deity cackled playfully before standing up, cracking his neck a few times. Then he began to gesture with his hand across the map a few times.
"My kids been tracking down the trails give to us by Tsukki. It's like trying to find a needle in a damn rice field, but we eventually got somewhere." He showed his teeth at everyone. "All we had to do was follow the drugs."
Astraea Familia plus Penthesilea stared blankly at the deity in question.
"Uh…what?" Alise asked in a dumbfounded manner. Amaterasu giggled, a strained thing, before she leaned forward with tired eyes.
"Oh yeah, drug trade has been going crazy lately. All sorts of performance boosters. Actually legit." She smacked her lips once."If you ignore the time side effect called 'delayed explosive death'."
Alise paled, as if remembering something. So did everyone else. The Ishtar Raid was absolutely atrocious in more ways than one. The drugs? Sounded all too familiar. The only one who could come up with those things…had to be Nana. Under duress? Willingly? Questions to be answered for later. More crimes of her clan to face. Kaguya shook her head, refocusing on the topic.
"Suffice to say, it has been rather annoying to get a handle on it," Hachiman elaborated with narrowed eyes. Susanno nodded in agreement before he slammed his fist down on a certain spot a few times.
"Yeah, still, when there's blood, there's a trail. So we got something eventually after busting some heads here and there."
"How the hell are these clowns the investigators of this nation?" Lyra whispered, her mouth twitching with skeptical energy. Kaguya shrugged, same look of disbelief on her face, now knowing that the investigation was left to…the Susanoo Familia. The most 'street' Familia of them all.
"Takes a thug to know a thug I guess?"
Susanoo snapped his fingers a few times, his smirk replaced by a scowl.
"Hey bitches, we are like three feet apart."
"Good," Kaguya responded without hesitation. Any satisfaction at seeing veins pop up was killed by the disapproving glance of Astraea. In that moment, Tsukuyomi decided to chime in, rolling her eyes in exasperation.
"Well, my Familia would've investigated, but some people were insistent on my sanctions."
"For good reasons!" Amaterasu yelled, causing her fellow goddess to huff.
"Pah!"
Once more, the Mizuchi made her presence known, about to lower her child to somewhere safe.
"Oryou is in punching range."
Ryoma shook his head with a sigh, raising his hand before his wife.
"Not yet, honey."
"Hm."
"Did he just say not 'yet'?" Ryuu muttered under her breath. Susanoo exhaled slowly before throwing his arms up in surrender.
"Fuck it, let's just skip to the result." He gestured at the map again. "They are somewhere in this area."
Everyone leaned forward to have a closer look at the location. The sight made Kaguya almost break the table in rage.
"...there's like dozens of tiny islands there," Alise said with a nervous laugh. The Senbonzakura wanted to scream at that. A damn archipelago. Out in the wild, in the ocean at that.
"Whatever you say about our issues, real estate ain't fucking one of them, kehahahaha!" Susanoo looked at the Gojouno among them. "Sooo, remind ya of anythin'?"
Kaguya spat to the side before leaning back with her arms crossed.
"Again, it's been ages. And no, as a child, I do not know the locations for black ops and dark magic rituals or whatever else they might have kept from me."
To be so ignorant…how much did she even know about her own clan? How much did Nana know? How much did she had to go through because she ran away? Kaguya clenched her eyes shut at the growing ringing ache in her head. No, not the time, focus on the mission. Close your heart off. A worried look by her Familia, which she wanted to dismiss but was unable to. Instead, she could only nod ever so slightly in appreciation at the gentle squeeze of her hand by Alise. Lyra meanwhile decided to distract everyone as she hummed loudly before snapping her fingers.
"Let me guess, we're looking at a ton of cultists as well?"
"Not a big issue individually most likely, but there are a lot." Kushinada raised an eyebrow at them. "Still want to keep this 'a private affair', Orarians?"
Alise turned to her Familia, scratching the back of her head.
"Is that a thing? I wasn't aware that was a thing."
"I don't think that's a thing," Arash responded, smiling ever so slightly. As much as Kaguya appreciated the attempt of humor, it did nothing for her. So instead, she cracked her knuckles a bit before she glared at everyone in this room.
"Enough with the clown act and get this show started already." Her voice grew a feral edge to it. "I don't care who you bring, as long as they won't hold us back."
It spoke volumes of the issues that Evilus caused that for once, the quarelling factions were 'one' in that regard.
"The capable but expendable then. And our captains," Hachiman announced calmly, causing the deities to nod.
Expendable? And the captains? That's more support than Kaguya expected. Alise rubbed her chin, going into captain mode as she processed the information.
"Hm. Risky for yourselves…but if we want to go for an alpha strike, this is a solid approach." She pressed her lips together. "Still risky though."
"We are aware," Tsukuyomi said, fanning herself with her fan before closing it against her palm. "However, the Night Queen and her ilk are a blight to our islands. The sooner we get rid of them the better. Not to mention, anything less and we would just shame ourselves before the outsiders."
"So you do have some morales in that head of yours, Tsukki," Amatearasu said with something resembling begrudging respect.
"Only Susanoo can call me that, brat." Her shoulders slumped ever so slightly. She radiated exhaustion that was not present back during the War Game. "And I justified myself often enough. I tire of it. Let's just finish this."
Kaguya refused to feel pity for that woman. Anyone selling people into slavery, no matter what reasons, were the definition of injustice. And yet…she couldn't claim she didn't at least understand the stress she was going through as a leader. If only for that, Kaguya decided to be professional. As much as she could.
"So when do we start?"
The Far Eastern Gods rose to their feet, with their children already on the move outside.
"The ships are waiting for us. The time is now," Hachiman announced. For the first time, Kaguya felt gleeful anticipation rise in her chest. As did worry, fear and what not. But in that moment? To know she was finally going to face the shame of her blood head on for once…she showed her teeth with a wide grin.
"Music to my ears."