The rivalry between the Himekami and Hayachine families is not literally as old as time, but it might as well be. It has existed since the beginning of both families.
The reason for it is not important. At least, not in face of the consequences it brought.
At the beginning of that rivalry, no one could have imagined what would have become of it. What everyone simply thought of as some fighting turned into a war. It got to the point where the fights between Himekami and Hayachine could rival the Devil King War itself.
The last straw was when that fighting grew so much it started involving the whole Devil World, and was even making its way to the Human World. At that time, the families' policy was "if you're not with me, you're against me" which led to one of the greatest casualties in history.
It got so bad that the then Devil King himself had to intervene. The then Devil King prohibited any and all kinds of aggression between Himekamis and Hayachines, with the sole exception being if they happened to be on opposing teams in the Devil King War.
Of course, it wasn't so easy to get them to obey, but after a few murders the families noticed the then Devil King was serious, so they obeyed. And so peace was restored.
It's not uncommon for a Devil King to use their power for personal gain, and then for the next Devil King to undo all that in search of their own gain. But that single rule remained unchanged over the generations and enforced by all Devil Kings.
And so the centuries and generations passed, until we arrive back at 17 years ago. The year Lizel and Yotaka were born. It's not as if the families planned for this, but both Lizel and Yotaka quickly showed themselves as prodigies. Meaning this would be the biggest fight between Himekamis and Hayachines in a long time, even if indirectly.
For now, let us focus on Yotaka.
As mentioned, both Yotaka and Lizel were prodigies, but their fields of expertise were clearly different. For as good as Yotaka's grades were, Lizel hardly got anything less than perfect. On the other hand, while Lizel was a talented magic user, she could never match Yotaka's raw power.
But of course, the Hayachines still made Yotaka study in order to rival Lizel's grades. It's not as if Yotaka was a bad student, so she didn't really mind it.
"Hmmm, this should be enough studying for now."
"Good job, mistress. Your mother is waiting for you now."
"Thanks, Iratsume. I'm off then."
Having been together literally since the cradle, Iratsume was, of course, in charge of helping Yotaka study. Being of the same age and in the same class, of course Iratsume could offer perspectives no private tutor could, so she was a great help in that regard.
Yotaka's next business was with her mother. Just like any other noble daughter, Yotaka had to take a number of extra classes in a variety of subjects so she could act the part.
While she wasn't bad at it, those were classes Yotaka only took because of her obligation as a noble daughter. She felt she could act properly without them, but she also had no trouble with those classes, so it really was just a waste of time.
But there was 1 thing Yotaka enjoyed about those classes, and that's the lessons she had with her father after. That's why, once she finished with her mother, she immediately headed to where her father was.
"So you came, Yotaka. Let's get started with the lesson. Today, we'll be playing the part of…"
Another important part of a young lady's education was in regards to her future. More specifically, how'd she'd conquer and please her future husband.
While these kinds of lessons weren't strange, Yotaka's father was certainly on the extreme side. He figured Yotaka was smart, so she'd learn well enough from example. So, by doing certain plays for her, she'd learn how she was supposed to act.
Of course, Yotaka herself was a mere spectator in these plays. Her father would always play the husband, and the wife would be played by a variety of women, including Yotaka's mother, Iratsume's mother, and many other servants.
In today's scenario, her father was having an affair with Irastume's mother, and Yotaka's mother found out about it. What was she to do? The correct answer was: nothing.
In the devil society, it's not uncommon for one to have many partners, though it was more common with a man with multiple women. Some preferred to show off the multiple wives, some chose to have a main wife while the others were just concubines, and there were those that had a wife and just some casual flings here and there.
The point is, from the perspective Yotaka's mother should have, and that Yotaka was to learn, an affair was hardly something to worry about. Only if her position as wife seemed shaken was she to take action. Yotaka already knew that very well, so to her this wasn't much different from watching a movie she'd already seen.
"This should be enough for today. You're free to go, Yotaka."
"Thank you, father."
Yotaka's lesson finished, so she left the room. But Yotaka's father was just beginning. As usual, after a lesson, he was quite horny, so it was time to stop the play and do it for real.
Today, he had remembered to tell Yotaka to leave. She was sad about it, because she wanted to stay and watch. Yotaka was entering her teen years, so she had obviously seen porn, but she still preferred to watch it live. Maybe it was because he was her father, but Yotaka considered her father somewhat of a master at these things. She really did enjoy watching.
But there was a good thing about not being able to watch, there'd be more time to do another thing she enjoys.
Yotaka arrived back in her room and then entered the secret room in it. There, waiting for her, was a homunculus made in Lizel's image. Not one of the 4 Yuuto would meet years down the line. No, this one would meet its end in the short future, but for now she still had uses.
"Hiii! N-no, please forgive me."
"Now now, I know you feel good, so you don't have to pretend to hate it."
Yotaka's parents had first ordered for a homunculus in Lizel's image to be made to serve as a constant reminder of who she had to beat. But, as the years passed, Yotaka had other ideas of what to do with it.
Maybe, if history were slightly different, Yotaka's feelings for Lizel would have developed in a different way, and then maybe her end wouldn't have come the way it did.
But that's beside the point. A lesson that particularly interested Yotaka was when her father first introduced her to bondage. Since her future husband could be into it, Yotaka had to learn it. Yotaka didn't quite enjoy being tied down, but she enjoyed being the side that dominates the other. That's why the Lizel homunculus was currently tied.
Yotaka put some vibrators inside the homunculus' vagina and anus and turned them on, then she sat on her face. As she was still learning, Yotaka wasn't too creative with what she was doing.
She'd simply keep receiving pleasure from the homunculus until she fell unconscious, and even then Yotaka would force her as much as possible. That was another thing that contributed to the homunculus' short lives back then.
Once done, Yotaka would return to her room, where Iratsume now waited for her. Yotaka wasn't nearly satisfied.
"Mistress Yotaka, let me take off my-"
"No need, I'll do it myself."
Yotaka caressed Iratsume over her clothes, and then began to remove them. Once Yotaka and Iratsume were in their birthday suits, their passionate night would begin.
Of course, despite seeing both as toys for pleasure, Yotaka understood the difference between the Lizel homunculus and Iratsume. She knew she shouldn't break Iratsume, so she was slightly more careful with her.
Just slightly.
And so went Yotaka's days. That is, until something happened.
Yotaka was 13 at the time. Of course, so was Lizel. It seemed like just another day. The first thing Yotaka said when she saw Lizel that day was:
"Something's strange."
"How so, mistress Yotaka?"
"I don't know, but there is something."
If you asked anyone else, it was just another day, yet Yotaka felt it wasn't so. It was the first time in their lives Iratsume didn't understand what was going on in Yotaka's head.
For years Yotaka would not be able to get rid of that feeling, nor would she be able to get any proof she was right about it. Only when Yotaka was chosen as Hanged Man's Candidate and Lizel got nothing did Iratsume finally agree that something was indeed off.
After the Unveiling, and Lizel's subsequent (fake) kidnapping, Yotaka decided to hire Hierophant to find out exactly what had happened with Lizel back then. Of course, such a lengthy investigation would take months, but Yotaka was fine with waiting.
While she waited, she got a certain visit.
"That's a lot of cute girls there. Any chance one of them is looking for a guy like me?"
Lost had invaded Yotaka's mansion to recruit her to his group. Yotaka had plans to become Devil King, so taking on the Triumph was something that interested her, that's why she decided to check it out.
Ultimately though, it was just a way to kill time until Hierophant's report arrived. And when it did, the pieces finally fell into place for Yotaka.
"I see, so that's what happened."
The report told her that Lizel had lost her magic circuits. While there were details missing, Yotaka didn't really care about stuff like the assailant's identity or where Lizel's magic circuits had ended up.
For years, Lizel had been tricking everyone, yet Yotaka had always felt something was wrong, and now she knew what. It was a happy day for her.
The next day, Yotaka began investing in ways to kidnap and take Lizel for herself. That would be a nigh impossible task if Lizel had her magic circuits, but it became trivial without them.
But Lizel's worth wasn't just in her magic circuits. When she noticed something was wrong, she began avoiding Yotaka in all kinds of ways. What started as a fun game quickly became frustrating for Yotaka.
After Death's Group essentially disbanded, Yotaka decided to redouble her efforts. Once she figured Lizel was no longer in the Human World, she decided to bring out the big guns. That is, the contacts she made while in Death's Group.
She went after Balance, and asked him to help her in her chase. He agreed to help, so long as she also did him a favor after. So Balancing was applied on Yotaka. That was, at the same time, a good and bad choice.
As a reminder, what Balancing does is that it makes things more "fair". When used outside of combat, it basically guarantees that the good and bad of a person's life will have balanced each other out by the end. It can make good or bad things happen depending on the need, but it can also just make you die if you already reached that balance.
After that, Yotaka headed for Rikimaru and Seigi's home, she asked to use their Gate to go to the Devil World undetected. After that, she simply had to go to Neith's place and wait for her chance.
Once Yotaka saw that chance, she took it, and even got Poran as a bonus. But, by that time, her destiny was set.
Except for the person who writes them, no one really knows their destiny. Destiny itself isn't quite as people imagine it. However, for now, there's only 1 thing you need to know:
Yotaka's destiny was to die by Lizel's hand after she kidnapped her.
Such an event had no set date. It could happen at any point of the Devil King War, or arguably even before or after. What Balancing did was bring it close while also balancing Yotaka's "karma".
You already know how Yotaka's story ended, fulfilling her destiny. However, while Yotaka's destiny wasn't broken, it also didn't quite follow what was written.
"This isn't quite what I wrote, but it works. And there's also some interesting developments, so I guess it's fine."
A girl said. She looked fairly young, at the start of her teens. She had blonde hair and her dress looked like it was the starry sky itself, which made her blend into the space around her.
That girl had many names, but you'd probably call her something like Lady Fate, or Writer of Destinies, or something along those lines. But in short, she is the being that decides everyone's fates.
"Let's see, next is… ohh, it's already that? Shame, I wanted to play a bit more."
The girl looked over the next few events on her script, and 1 in particular called her attention: Stella Hoshigaoka's death.
"Hmm, but she did give that magic crystal to Yuuto, didn't she? That wasn't in the script. I wonder if she's going to try and cheat death. That could be interesting."
Despite her job, or maybe because of it, the girl didn't find much enjoyment in people just fulfilling their destiny. She prefers seeing people fight against it, even if it's hopeless.
So she decided to keep watch. Stella had an interesting event coming soon, but there was someone else the girl had to keep her eye on.
It was a certain boy whose script had already reached the end.
