Vortex World,
Minatogawa Stateside Town, Assembly of Nihilo, Amala Terminal
Kagatsuchi 5/8 Waxing
"We all set?" Ryoko glanced back at Tenchi, clipping the fixtures of her camping backpack before looking over her shoulder to the Hitoshura.
She frowned; the youth had stopped his packing, and instead held the last of the magatama-the one Sakuya had gifted him-in one hand. He stared at it with apprehension, then looked up at Ryoko with a frown.
"Are you going to…" The woman trailed off, and a distasteful grimace passed across the young man's face.
"I need to." He replied, his voice quiet and filled with dread. "I…if I don't-if I don't ingest it now, I may not have a chance to when I may need it." He said, and took a long, deep, shuddering breath. "I just…I need to gather myself."
Frowning, Ryoko abandoned her bag for the boy, and came to stand beside him. With it came the sharp, rank smell of fear, giving the woman a moment's pause. "You don't like it, do you?"
Tenchi shook his head, his gaze still glued to the inactive magatama.
Ryoko's frown deepened, and the woman wrapped an arm around his shoulders, drawing him close. The youth was trembling, yet at her touch, Tenchi leaned into her, taking strength in the Demon Lord's presence.
They stood like that for a time, observing the magatama with silent trepidation before Tenchi spoke once more. "It…hurts." He said. "Eating them. I only kind of remember the one which made me a demi-fiend, but what I do remember was painful and traumatic. I guess I was…charmed when I took in Wadatsumi, but I was conscious when I-I ate Kamudo." They youth pursed his lips into a pensive frown. "It was…awful. I felt like I was choking. I-I couldn't breath, and it felt like-like it was going to rip right out of my throat." He shuddered, and covered his face with one hand. "Like…it woke up, Ryoko. It-Not even when it was in my mouth. My breath woke it up, and it was like it…sought me out. Like it wanted to be ingested, and I had no choice in the matter. I could feel everything. The shell, the tendrils, the jaws…" He shook his head. "I don't know how I can do it again." He whispered. "I almost want to be unconscious just so I don't-don't know the experience again."
The teen glanced up at the pirate with a bitter smile. "I must sound like a coward, huh?" He said. "Here's a thing that can grant me all sorts of power, and I'm too afraid—too weak—to go through with it."
"Hey." Ryoko looked at him sharply. "No talking like that. We had an agreement."
Tenchi sighed and looked away, his gaze darting back to the Magatama. "Yeah." He said, his voice just above a whisper. "I know. It's just…"
Ryoko shifted to stand behind him, and mindful of the horn sprouting from his neck, drew Tenchi into a firm embrace against herself. Tenchi wrapped his arms around hers, the magatama clutched in a white-knuckled grip, his lips pursed and eyes dark as the teen leaned into her chest. "You aren't a coward for fearing pain." Ryoko murmured. "Any sane and rational living creature fears pain-its the information our body uses us to tell us something is wrong, that we're in danger, to prevent us from aggravating a piece of ourselves which is damaged or in damaging it in the first place. The more severe the damage, the more intense the warnings which we receive, and you are no different Tenchi, even as a Hitoshura."
Tenchi was quiet.
"It took courage for you to ingest Kamudo consciously; something which you valued more than your sense of pain was at risk, and so you went against that instinctual logic in order to address it." Ryoko rested her cheek atop Tenchi's head, breathing in his scent; from the acrid fear to the strange otherness of demi-fiend and to the young man she'd known most of his life beneath; one of steel and green tea, incense and cities and saltwater; an earhtly, islander scent similar to his mother, which had grown into one with a sense of distinct comfort that differed even now from the youkai Ryoko kept company with.
"That was different." Tenchi whispered. "I couldn't let you…I couldn't let you die, Ryoko."
"No more than I could allow that lilim to harm you." Ryoko revealed. "When our values are endangered, our fears and common sense are overridden, and we find a strength to move forward despite of those terrors. That's courage, Tenchi; the strength to move forward in the face of fear and pain."
Tenchi held his silence. The grip around her arms grew a little tighter.
"Whenever I left my physical body, the return was always painful." Ryoko said. "When I was imprisoned, the pain grew numb. It's…amazing what the body can acclimate to. Horrible too. I would acclimate to it, and after a time, my body would just…adapt. I'd forget about it-maybe even accept it by surrendering to the pain. I don't…I don't know." She shrugged. "But when I left my physical body. When I became a spirit, I left the pain with it and would experience a life and a world free of such horrors for the first time in…days, months, years even." She scowled in reflection, her eyes darkening with her own memories. "Yet…my astral body was weak; I could only maintain it for a small amount of time, and then I would find myself back in the cave, back in the prison, and it was…awful. What my body had acclimated to would experience again with fresh and vivid intensity, because in that small moment of time…I had learned what it had felt like to be free of such hell. To have a body free of roots, one whole and unblemished, alive and healthy. I had my strength, my vitality in my astral body, and every time it waned and I returned to my physical one came with it the return of fresh, terrible agony."
"Even when Mom and I came around?" Tenchi asked.
"Yes." Ryoko said. "I'll be honest…if not for Hiji and the other tengu, I probably wouldn't have saved Achika, Tenchi. They heckled me into surfacing, waking me from my sleep-sleep, or rather…unconsciousness was the only way I could escape the pain-and refusing to let me fall back under until I rose from my physical body." She sighed. "Don't get me wrong, Tenchi. I loved Achika and I love you, but…it pained me when you came to visit me."
"You never said anything." Tenchi looked up at the woman, dark brows furrowed in concern.
"And risk you never returning?" Ryoko countered. "I wasn't afraid of the pain. I've suffered two thousand years at the hands of a cruel master and a crueler life. I've learned how to survive the vastness of space without breath, learned to tolerate limbs being chopped or blown off, learned to brush off fatal wounds to my insides which would kill another man…but I had only just experienced the isolation and loneliness of the cave's silence." She gazed down at the youth before her with warm, golden eyes. "I had always had a voice in my head; a presence, an other to stay with me-Kagato or Ryo-oh-ki, it didn't matter. But in that cave I was met with silence, and it drove me closer to madness than any amount of pain or injury I'd suffered under Kagato. You and Achika though?" She smiled. "You two brought me peace. Comfort. Comradarie. You and all the youkai."
She closed her eyes. "For that…I was willing to risk the pain. To suffer through it. Let my physical body suffer, that my mind may know peace. And you and Achika and Hiji and Kokonotsu all did that for me, Tenchi."
"I wish you would have said something still." Tenchi muttered.
"Any words I'd have said about my physical discomfort would have directly led to my own mental fortitude's decline." Ryoko retorted. "…And that's what I'm trying to get at. My values-your values-drive your actions and what you are and are not willing to accept." She jutted her chin to the magatama. "If you aren't ready to go through with it, don't force yourself, and don't berate yourself over it; your mental health is equally as important-if not in someways moreso-than your physical health. There's no reason to deepen your own trauma by forcing it on yourself."
A small smile crept across Tenchi's face. "Thanks Ryoko." He said.
"You putting it away?" Ryoko asked.
Tenchi glanced back down at it. "No." He said, and took a breath. "I appreciate your support but…I also recognize that this is something I need to overcome. I can't let my own fears-no matter how strong-control me. A fear of pain or a fear of magatama-it doesn't matter. I…need to master myself if I want to grow in this world and become my own person. Not just for myself, but for you and Hi P and Paperball too." He pursed his lips. "Maybe even for Urd and the others. But…I won't grow if I keep delaying what I know I need to do." He looked back up at Ryoko. "One of the greatest pieces of advice I ever heard was, 'become comfortable with discomfort'. And I…I think I'm just now grasping what that means." His free hand reached out and gripped Ryoko's clasped hands, squeezing them gently. "I want-no, need to conquer this if I'm to live in this world. I did it once. I can do it again."
Ryoko looked at him in surprise, then her gaze softened. "What happened to the kid I knew?" Her teasing was gentle, and she felt a small bit of pride for the youth who would face his fears-no matter how traumatic they were-rather than abandon them for the security of avoidance.
Tenchi looked at her with a solemn expression, and the smile faded when she saw the seriousness in his face. "Ryoko…" He began. "I…I almost lost you. Because I was afraid of the magatama. Of the pain which would come with them." His eyes hardened, and he examined her face, golden eyes-like her own, similar but different-roaming across her features. "I won't allow myself to fail like that again. I refuse to let you or anyone else suffer because of me any longer."
"I see." The woman murmured, one hand folding over Tenchi's and stroking the skin with a thumb. She could feel the distinct difference between his flesh and the heated brands-as if her thumb grazed across an electrical current rather than the teen's on flesh. "What will you do?"
"I'll eat it." Tenchi said firmly, his gaze firm and unwavering. "I just…" He closed his eyes. "I need to build myself up to it."
Ryoko smiled at him. "You need to get hyped up?"
The youth flushed, and the pirate's smile grew wider. "Yeah…maybe."
"You got this!" Ryoko released him, and slapped a hand on his shoulder, sending the boy off balance. "Oy, Hi P! Paperball! Get out here!" She called, and to her delight found the two beings manifesting, Hi P blinking owlishly as she glanced between the two of them in confusion. "Tenchi needs a cheer squad to help him eat a magatama. You two in?"
The flush on Tenchi's face deepened. "Wait, Ryoko-"
He was ignored as Hi P smiled. It was feral. "Oh…please yes." She breathed.
"Ryoko!"
The pirate continued to ignore him, turning to Paperball. "You in?"
"Let's go Babe!" Paperball announced, his whole body swaying in a nod as Tenchi let out a dismayed cry.
"Gods…damn it." Tenchi hissed.
"Sorry, ain't no gods here!" Ryoko turned back to him. "You'll have to make due with a demons blessing instead!" She pumped a fist. "Now open wide and deepthroat that motherfucker!"
For a moment dead silence met her proclamation, as Tenchi's eyes boggled in horror and even Paperball turned to regard her in dismay.
Ryoko paused, looking at the gathered demons in confusion. "I…said something wrong, didn't I."
Hi P snorted, then began to cackle, laughing so hard she flipped in mid-air. "Yes!" She screamed, "You heard the woman, deepthroat that magatama,Hitoshura!"
Paperball swayed in the air, as if he too was laughing. "Let's go!" He shouted, encouraged by Hi P's exuberance. "Open wide and shove it down your throat!"
Tenchi recoiled from all three of them, growing so red he seemed to be edging towards purple. "Stop it!" He snapped.
"No!" Hi P shouted, and the youth flinched. "You're gonna swallow it and you're gonna like it!"
"This was a mistake!" Tenchi looked at Ryoko in desperation. "Call them off!"
Ryoko eyed the other two demons in a mixture of curiosity and bemusement. "I…don't think I can." She said. "Just-just swallow the damn thing, Tenchi."
"One gulp!" Paperball exclaimed.
"You know you like it." Hi p cooed.
"This is sexual harassment." Tenchi growled.
"No it isn't!" Hi P announced, crossing her hands over her chest. "Like the Demon Lord said, we're your Hype Team! I've seen you do it before, and I'll make you do it again, deepthroat the bitch, Hitoshura!"
"Stop saying that!" Tenchi screamed, "What the hell is wrong with you two?!"
For a brief moment Hi P and Paperball paused, shared a look, then turned back to Tenchi.
"One word: Lillim." Hi P said.
"Payback's a bitch, ain't it?" Paperball nodded in agreement.
"Fine, if it'll shut you all up, I'll do it, you unhinged fucks!" He snarled, and without a second thought brought the magatama to his mouth.
Hi P and Paperball went wild, screaming in uproarious celebration as Ryoko looked on in confoundment. Together, the demonic duo began to chant: "Deepthroat, deepthroat!"
The magatama seemed to come to life as it passed to his lips, and Tenchi recoiled as black tendrils emerged from its carapace, seeking out his mouth and pulling itself inside before the demi-fiend could react. The teen gagged, and Ryoko felt her skin crawl as the creature slid down the youth's throat.
It lasted less than three seconds, yet the terror and pain that spread across Tenchi's face was palpable. The Demon Lord took a step towards him, but Tenchi waved her off, clutching his throat before finally gasping, his brands flashing a brilliant, neon blue which seemed to darken his skin a shade before returning to their original state.
The teen glared at the two demons. "I'm never coming to any of you guys for help again." He rasped, looking green in the face but still very much alive.
"Hey, you got it all down your throat in one go, didn't you? Hi P asked, shooting him a sly gaze.
"…Fuck you, Hi P."
"I'd tell you to do it yourself, but after seeing what you just took, I think you'd be better off with someone much bigger than me, Hitoshura." Hi P winked at him, and Tenchi turned a bright red so intense it traveled down his neck, overshadowing the blue of his brands.
"You're all sick perverts. All of you." Tenchi grumbled.
"And yet you still find yourself in our shared company." Paperball reminded. "You need to find better friends."
"I thought I did!" Tenchi exclaimed. "I just didn't think those friends would peer-pressure me into chocking on a magatama!"
"It's not like you'd have done it if we hadn't pressured you." Hi P replied. "So really, we were doing you a favor. You should be grateful, you know."
Ryoko peered at him in concern. "You okay?"
"I will be." Tenchi said, and swallowed. He still looked ill. "Can we agree on no more-no more support from the others from now on?" He glowered at Hi P in particular, the instigator behind it all, and snarled in a manner that was more akin to Ryoko when the High Pixie smiled at him.
"I'll call it even." She winked at him, moving to hover over Ryoko's head when the youth bore his teeth. The incisors appeared to have grown a couple millimeters with the latest Magatama. "Never forget, Hitoshura-The Fae are not a race which stands insult or humiliation. And you absolutely fucked us all over with the Lilim." The pixie's eyes grew hard and vehement. "Remember that next time you fail to follow the advice of your betters."
"Right. You'll get the others to peer pressure me into choking down a magatama like its a dick." Tenchi growled, ignoring the dumbfounded look that flew across Ryoko's face. "Message received."
"No." The fairy flew up in front of Tenchi's face, and the youth flinched back. "Message not received." She said. "I joke and play and it is light with you, Hitoshura. Should you come across Fae of the Seelie or Unseelie Court, you had best be careful. They are vindictive, and they are cruel. You may think you will have one over on them, only to find out that they will return and pay you back threefold. I heckle and harass you because I am fond of you. The rest of my kin will not be so gentle."
Tenchi fell quiet as he stared at the Fae in consideration. "Well," he began, "I suppose I'm fortunate to have you at my side, then."
High P stared at him, and an almost pitiful look passed across her face. "…You may not always." She said, and without warning, vanished in a hale of violet energy. Tenchi started, then looked back at Ryoko and Paperball in question.
Ryoko shrugged her shoulders, at an equal loss of what to make of the fairy's words, and glanced at Paperball. Yet even the Shikigami seemed quiet and considerate. "She gotta point." He said. "We ain't always gonna be by your side. You two are already outpacing us; soon we won't be able to keep up. You'll have to either leave us behind or make the call to fuse us into something stronger."
"I'm not fusing either of you." Tenchi's voice was quiet, but firm.
"You say that now." Paperball said. "But…things change. Yet we remain the same. You need allies that can match you in power. You keep up at your current pace, we'll both slow you down. Keep that in mind, Kid." Then Paperball too vanished in a bolt of violet light, leaving Ryoko and Tenchi alone in the terminal. With it came a strange and tangible disquiet.
Ryoko shuddered. "Come on." She said, "Finish packing and lets get out of here."
Tenchi sent one last glance at the area Hi P and Paperball had last manifested in. "Should I…be looking for other allies then?" He asked.
The space pirate shrugged. "Couldn't hurt." She admitted. "This place is big enough you could probably convince plenty of others to join you, and that might give Hi P and Paperball both some breathing space. Paperball in particular." She pursed her lips. "He…almost didn't survive the last battle."
"Yeah…" Tenchi murmured. With a frown, he looked up at the cyan-haired woman. "You said you have business with Urd, right?"
"Yep." Ryoko nodded.
"Maybe while you're with her I'll go out and test my luck with the locals." Tenchi said. "See…just how interested people are."
Ryoko raised an eyebrow. "Will you be okay on your own?"
"No." He said. "But…its like the magatama. If I don't force myself out on my own, I won't get better." He rubbed the back of his head, a nervous half-smile on his face. "No offense, but I don't want to have to rely on you for everything, Ryoko."
"And I don't want you to." Ryoko agreed. "The more independent you are, the better off you'll be."
"So you're good if I head into the Assembly on my own?"
"You'll have Hi P and Paperball to bail you out if you get into trouble." Ryoko nodded. "And…as much as I dislike the Assembly…there's enough security around to stop anything outrageously dangerous from happening to you. Just…until you recruit some new demons, do me a favor and stick to the major city area, okay?"
"Can do." Tenchi nodded. "I'm…not sure how much I want to speak with any of the more…suspect demons around Urd's Well."
"You aren't going to try and recruit Marller or Loki while I'm speaking with Urd, are you?"
"No!" Tenchi exclaimed. "Loki's cool and all, but…no. And Marller?" The youth shuddered. "I feel like she'd take the first opportunity to either kill me outright or let me die."
Ryoko sagged with visible relief. "Thank you." She breathed. "Loki's fine, but Marller…"
"Yeah. 'Nuff said." Tenchi agreed, and with a grunt hoisted his bag onto his back. "You ready to go?"
Ryoko nodded. "Let's go."
Vortex World,
Minatogawa Stateside Town, Assembly of Nihilo, Urd's Well
Kagatsuchi 6/8 Waxing
Marller was waiting for them in her usual spot when they arrived. "Bar's busy." She said. "Don't draw attention; go 'round back and knock three times. Loki'll let you in."
"So the bar does get customers." Ryoko said dryly. "And here I was starting to think it was a front."
"It is a front." Marller replied. "The bar's Urd's side-hustle."
"Then what's her main hustle?" Ryoko challenged.
"Ask her yourself. Preferably away from the entrance." Marller growled. "Your face will scare away customers."
"You sure it ain't your ugly mug?"
"Oh no, they're used to that. It's your fresh hideousness that will send them scurrying to the shadows." Marller bore her teeth in a snarl too aggressive to be mistaken for a smile.
Tenchi grabbed Ryoko's arm before she could retort. "Lets go." He said. "Thanks Marller." He nodded to the demon, who glowered at him but offered nothing else by way of a response.
Together, the duo walked around the building and towards its back, near where Ryoko had first assisted Urd in repairing a broken wall. Around the corner again, and they found an unremarkable staff entrance guarded by long, serpentine dog demon. It floated in the air with a body almost entirely white, its head a disproportionate black as it glared at them with red eyes.
"WHO YOU?" It demanded.
"Friends of Urd." Tenchi replied, and watched the creature tilt its head to one side. "…And Loki and Marller." Out of a habit he'd thought long dead, he offered a closed fist to the beast to sniff, and smiled when the long dog did exactly that, weaving around itself as it approached Tenchi with a wary caution. It sniffed his hand, tilted its head to the other side, then looked up at the demi-fiend.
"FOOD?" It asked.
"Do you want some?" Tenchi asked.
The dog's jaw parted, and its tail wagged with enthusiasm.
Tenchi glanced at Ryoko, shrugged, and slipped his bag off his shoulders, rifling through it and withdrawing a plastic bag which still held some dried fish in it. Withdrawing one small fish, he offered it to the long dog to sniff, and was rewarded when the creature took it from him with gentle jaws. "What do you think?"
"GOOD." The dog barked, and graced Tenchi with a hound's smile. "MORE!"
Tenchi, his own smile getting the better him, dug out several more and offered them to the creature as Ryoko looked on in amusement, his smile growing larger by the minute as the beast took them with the same gentle consideration as the first dried fish. "ME LIKE! ME JOIN YOU!" The hound barked thrice, dancing in the air before the demi-fiend, before releasing a howl. "AM INUGAMI! YOU GIVE FOOD, ME JOIN YOU!" It floated over to the teens shoulders, doggy paddling through the air as if it were swimming, and made itself comfortable around the boy's shoulders. Tenchi dug out another dried fish, then looked back at Ryoko. "Well…I guess I'm going to have to tell Urd I stole her dog?" He asked.
Ryoko shrugged. "I didn't even know she had a dog." She stated.
"MORE FISH!" The Inugami barked.
"Later." Tenchi told it, offering it a hand and scratching behind one of its ears after it licked his hand. "You'll eat all of them and then there won't be anymore. Let me at least find more treats for you first. What's your name?"
"GOD."
Tenchi and Ryoko blinked. "Sorry, say that again?" Tenchi asked.
"AM GOD." The Inugami replied.
"A dog named god?" Ryoko asked.
"YES."
"You're family has a weird sense of humor." Tenchi stated with a grin.
"NO FAMILY. BAD MAN. BAD MAN BURY ME. NO FOOD. HUNGRY IN SCARY DARK. WAKE HERE."
The smile faded from Tenchi's face, and the youth paused from where he'd been about to store the dried fish. Without a word, the teen reopened the bag and grabbed the fish. "…Have as much as you want." He said, and looked back to Ryoko with a pensive frown. Ryoko returned it with a solemn expression of her own.
At length Tenchi sighed, emptying the bag and watching as the Inugami finished the fish morsels. "…I guess its a good thing the world ended." He muttered. "If this…'bad man'…was still alive, I'd kill him."
"BAD MAN DEAD." The inugami curled back around Tenchi's shoulders, licking the youth's face in open affection. "ME EAT BAD MAN. ME EAT YOUR BAD MEN. YOU FEED ME. YOU FRIEND."
A noise rose in Tenchi's throat, and the youth adjusted to scratch the dog's chin. "…You're a good boy." He whispered. "I'll get you some more treats as soon as I can find some, okay? Until then, I'm going to let you rest."
The inugami barked once in agreement, then vanished in a burst of brilliant violet light. Tenchi stuffed the empty plastic bag back into his backpack and straightened, taking a long, deep breath. "Hey…Ryoko?"
"Yeah?"
Tenchi stared at the door before him hard, a deep frown on his face. "Is it-is it wrong if I'm…happy the person who mistreated…God…is dead?"
"I don't see why you shouldn't be." Ryoko replied.
Tenchi nodded, taking another deep and meditative breath. Ryoko came to stand beside him, and squeezed his shoulder in compassion. "Mom told me…stories about Inugami." He revealed. "About…how they're created. A man-a sorcerer like an onmyoji-would either bury a dog so only its head would stick out of the earth and let it starve where food was just out of its reach, or would take a dog that had been intentionally starved, behead it, and bury it in a crossroads." The teen looked around them, observing a nearby trash bin the dog had been floating near. "…I had thought we'd moved away from those practices…or that they'd never existed in the first place." He whispered.
"Cruelty exists in all forms." Ryoko replied. "It is the nature of the old world and…likely this world as well." She sighed, then ruffled the teen's hair. "But that's why folks like you are so important, Tenchi. You're a glimmer of light in a bleak world like this. You're probably the first person-human, demon, or something else-that has shown that spirit any sort of compassion. That means something in a place like this."
"Yeah…" Tenchi trailed off, then shook his head. "Yeah, you're right, and I'm gonna spoil the ever living shit outta God."
Ryoko cracked a smile. "You gonna rename him?"
Tenchi blinked. "I…hadn't thought of it."
"You probably can, you know. He'd like it, too, I bet."
Tenchi brightened at the prospect. "Tsuki-tsuki."
"….Moon-moon?" Ryoko blinked.
"It's cute!" Tenchi argued.
Ryoko held her hands up with a smile. "I'm not arguing with you!"
Tenchi smirked. "If I have any say, I'm giving them all cute names."
"Right, because 'Paperball' is an adorable name."
"Hey, that was partially on you." Tenchi accused. "You were the one calling him 'Chickenshit' when we first met."
"And as I recall, you wanted me to call him 'Trash' or 'Spitball' instead."
"He abandoned his girlfriend right after she was slain. I was kind of pissed." Tenchi announced. "It's not as bad as what it could have been and you gotta admit, he does kind of look like a paperball…"
"'Origami' would have been more fitting." Ryoko stared at him with a flat expression, then shook her head. "I'm too much of a bad influence for you." She muttered, stepping past him and knocking on the door thrice.
"Better a bad influence than no influence." Tenchi retorted, and Ryoko elbowed him as the door opened and Loki peeked out.
"Ah! If it isn't my two latest favorite people!" The man opened the door wider, a broad smile on his face. "Welcome back, my Beauties!"
Tenchi recoiled at the name, but Ryoko appeared unphased. "Yo. The Wicked Witch told us to come to this entrance. Can we come in?"
"But of course!" Loki stepped to one side and held the door open. "Please, come right inside."
The two entered, and as the door shut behind them, Tenchi looked back to the god. "Could you pass on to Urd that I might have…stolen her dog?" He asked.
Loki gave him a thumbs up, and the two headed to the guest bedroom, depositing their gear in a closet as they made themselves comfortable.
"It's…kind of nice having a room for ourselves." Ryoko commented. "I…never knew beds could be so soft."
Tenchi looked at her with a start. "Really?"
Ryoko shook her head, looking uncomfortable. "Up until now I've never slept in a bed."
"Never?' Tenchi looked at her in surprise. "Than…what did you sleep on?"
"I didn't." Ryoko revealed. "Or…if I did, it was usually me recovering on the bridge of Ryo-oh-ki. I was never allowed human comforts; Kagato saw them as a weakness and unnecessary." She sat down on the bed with a sigh, then leaned back against it, collapsing atop the comforter. "Its almost too soft." She muttered. "I feel like I'll sink and be unable to escape."
The demi-fiend watched her for a moment, then sat on the opposite side of the bed, mimicking her action and lying out next to her, tilting his head against the downy comforter to look at the woman and being mindful of his horn. "Kagato didn't allow you a lot of things, did he?" He asked, knowing he was touching a sensitive topic and eying her response carefully.
Ryoko grunted, then closed her eyes. "It's what you'd expect from a creature like him. He didn't treat me as a human and didn't view himself as human. I was a tool. He was the hand which used me."
"What did he view himself as, if not human?" Tenchi asked.
The space pirate fell quiet for a time. "…I don't know." She revealed. "Something more, something greater?" She opened her eyes and looked at him. "He didn't want to be human. He saw them as lesser beings. But…I never learned what he wanted to be, only that he thought he could achieve it through esoteric methods."
"Like…Hijima?"
"Hijima?"
"He was the one who ended the world. He used something…The Scripture of Miroku-Gouta-san claimed it was some kind of esoteric text-to bring about Conception. I…only met him once, but from what I observed, he was similar; humans were…lesser to him. Broken. Pitiful. Worth…worth exterminating." He fell quiet, lips pursed in thought. "…He did a good job on his extermination."
"Do you think he survived?"
"He spoke like he would." Tenchi replied. "And…part of me hopes he did. Just so I can end him." In a softer voice he whispered, "He took everything from me, Ryoko."
"A Thief of Always." Ryoko muttered off-hand, "…just like Kagato." She sighed and pushed herself up. "If he is in this world, we'll find him and beat the ever-loving shit out of him." She announced. "We'll make him regret he was ever born." She looked down at the youth with a confident smile.
Tenchi smiled back at her. "…Thanks Ryoko." He said. "Are you leaving to speak with Urd?"
The woman nodded, and the uncomfortable look once more appeared on her face. "As much as I don't want to…Yeah. Like you demonstrated earlier…sometimes the best way to overcome your discomfort is to face it head on."
"Become comfortable with discomfort." Tenchi said, and Ryoko nodded. "What are you going to talk about?"
"My origins." Ryoko revealed. "And if I really am some kind of god or demon or just-"
"Don't call yourself a science project."
The Demon Lord paused and scowled at the youth, who looked up at her with a scowl of his own.
"Fine. Artificial being." Ryoko replied. "That better?"
"Not really, but its a start." Tenchi replied. "I prefer 'badass motherfucker' personally."
Ryoko stared at down at him with a raised cyan brow, then grabbed a pillow and smacked it down on the demi-fiend's face.
Tenchi released a muffled yelp, and a hand scrambled to grab its own pillow, tossing it haphazardly at the pirate. It didn't come close to the woman, and when Ryoko removed the pillow Tenchi scowled up at her. "Compliment a woman once and she still beats you up over it." He groused.
"Appreciate you." Ryoko replied. "But save the compliments for the girl you're trying to charm."
The Hitoshua snorted. "Just because you can't handle a compliment…"He trailed off as Ryoko raised the pillow in warning. "Don't!" He yelped, and held his hands up. "We'll destroy the bed at this rate and I don't want to be in debt to Urd any more than we already are."
Ryoko shrugged, dropping the pillow beside Tenchi and raising to her feet. "I'd just repair it." She said. "Its not that hard after you figure out what you need to do." The woman stretched her hands over her head with feline grace, then looked back over her shoulder. "Go head out and and see if you can make more friends like Tsuki-tsuki. You might even luck out and find more dried fish for him."
"I'd rather find him some beef or chicken." Tenchi grumbled, and rolled on to his feet as well, checking the bed to ensure he hadn't pierced anything with his horn. "Maybe even a pool noodle for the absurd growth sticking out of my neck."
"Ask around the vendors." Ryoko advised. "You might luck out. Some of them might be selling…'human wares'."
"Fair enough." The duo headed to the door. "I'll see you later?" Tenchi asked.
Ryoko nodded. "Good luck."
"You too. Hope everything goes well with Urd." The teen slipped out and headed back towards the back door, and Ryoko watched him go, a frown on her face.
"I hope so too." She whispered, then made her way to the front of the bar.
The bar was crowded with denizens of all natures. An incubus flirted with two demons from Eligor's and Berith's individual armies, the two soldiers' helmets removed and revealing faces that could have been mistaken for human prior to the world's end. A group consisting of a lilim, a succubus, and a high pixie chatted loudly and with large enthusiasm over shared, colorful drinks, a pair of Nozumi sat at a table, using the straws which had been tucked into a pair of beers to drink with their trunks, and a Jack Frost appeared to be sweating with its date-a tiny orange fairy, a Hua Po, who seemed to be literally melting her companion.
For a moment, Ryoko took in the sights, her mind taking her back to darker days and seedier establishments run by mortals who called themselves 'men' in name only, and who held a darker undercurrent to them which would have put half of the establishment to shame. In contrast, the atmosphere here was light and warm, the patrons enjoying themselves and the company they kept as Kagatsuchi's light filtered through stained glass, casting rainbows across everyone who entered.
It's…inviting. Ryoko realized. People want to come here. It's bright and warm and welcoming and…
She'd never been in a bar like this before.
Urd stood behind the counter, her back turned to Ryoko as she leaned over, sharing a word with a nekomata who leaned in to hear what she had to say, on occasion smiling and laughing alongside the bar proprietor.
Feeling out of place and on the wrong side of the bar, Ryoko made her way towards the goddess, who turned to face her as if sensing her approach. "Good, you made it!" Urd exclaimed. She looked back at the nekomata, a slim creature adorned in the image of a human-like creature, dressed in something resembling a leotard as a black tail swayed behind her in interest. "You'll have to excuse me, business calls."
The nekomata said nothing, merely shooed Urd away with hands adorned in what looked like fur gloves, the tips holding long nails that curled unnaturally like talons. Urd smiled at her, then turned to scan the bar. "Loki!" She cried, and after a moment Ryoko spotted the man as well, throwing dice with a pair of pyro jacks as a unicorn watched on from the other side of the table, on occasion shaking its head or stomping a foot.
The man looked up at Urd's voice, and the goddess gestured her cousin forward. Making excuses, the god departed the game, and Ryoko watched in curiosity as the unicorn took his place, mouthing the dice up with its lips before letting them fall to the table. She heard an explosive dismay from the jack brothers surrounding it, and saw little else as Loki slid across the bar to join them.
"You're up." Urd said.
"Ah, finally, my moment to shine!" Loki sounded drunk. "Lets make it a cycle to remember!"
"No rounds on the house!" Urd snarled, putting a gentle hand into the small of Ryoko's back and guiding her back into the living quarters. "I still need to make a living and we only have so much booze! If I come back and find half the bar gone and you notin a pile of macca, I will personally cut your dick off and and mount it to the wall next to your head!"
Loki laughed, but provided no reply.
It was quieter in the hallway, and Urd moved to Ryoko's side. "Come on, lets head to my room. I've got some wards up so we won't be disturbed." She grimaced. "Sorry about that. It got a bit lively while you were out; the place is popular in the Rising Full quarter; even if the Obelisk masks us from Kagatsuchi's might, we still get a bit more restless during this time. Demons normally come here during that time to blow off steam and socialize." The two entered the bedroom, and Ryoko blinked, finding it no longer smelled of Urd or Marller but instead of herbs; scents she recognized only in the most vaguest of senses-lavender and jasmine, peppermint and rose-scents she knew conceptually but had never experienced in her life.
The smells were comforting, and Ryoko felt some of her initial tension fade as Urd closed the door behind them. With it came quiet, the distinct roar of the bar patrons ending with the same abruptness as if they'd left the building.
"So what exactly are we going to do?" Ryoko asked, eying the room with trepidation.
Urd gestured to the side of the room, where two chairs rested facing each other, a small table propped up against a wall behind one of them. With no small amount of wariness, the pirate approached one, taking a seat as Urd sat down across from her. She watched the Norn with an uneasy frown, fighting to maintain a casual baring in front of the goddess and instead finding herself fidgeting in her seat.
Urd, to her credit, ignored it. "We are here to acquire an understanding of your origins and past." She began, and Ryoko was startled by the level of severity in the silver-haired woman's voice. The playfulness from out front was gone, and the pirate could detect neither alcohol nor any other substance on the Norn's breath. "There are two ways we can go about that process," She continued, and held up two fingers. She grabbed the first finger. "The first is that I take a DNA sample from you-with your permission-and trace it back to its original source. This is the most non-intrusive spell which I can conduct, and should allow me to provide you the 'parent' material which was used to create you."
The goddess paused, allowing the information to sink in before speaking further. "The second option," She grabbed both fingers, "Is to look into your past based off my own internal database; I follow a 'trail' which you have created through time and space back to your place of origin, and see first hand who or what was used to bring you into being. This is a more invasive route; however, it can also be used to provide you insight into your origins and why you were created."
Ryoko frowned, tension rising in her shoulders. "What are the express differences between them?" She asked. "In layman's terms."
"First one lets me just see what you're made of." Urd said. "I separate the two DNA structures that led to your existence and work backwards to create the two separate materials. As uninvasive as I can get and will just tell you 'Parent A' and 'Parent B'. The second one will have me traversing back through your past to see it first-hand."
Ryoko scowled. "What, like watch my supposed parents consummate me into being?"
"No." Urd replied. "…Unless that's what you want, in which case even I am going to have some reservations. Think of it more as…I find who bore you."
Ryoko narrowed her eyes. "And you're…letting me decide?"
"I am." Urd nodded. "A large part of this goes into trust, Ryoko. You trust me with either your genetic material or your past, and from them I provide to you the information you need. But I also need to forewarn you: The first technique is not something I have mastered. My expertise comes in potions, not genetics, and there is a chance it will fail. Likewise, though the second method is more invasive, it also allows me to tap into another domain of my own expertise, and I can navigate through it both faster and with more precision. The chance of it failing are slim to none, and I have the advantage of sharing with you pieces of information you have likely either never known or have forgotten. But at the end of the day, it's your decision—this is your life, your genetics, your history we are discussing, and I will not do anything without your express permission first."
"Why?" Ryoko asked, confused and suspicious. "Why let me decide?"
"Because this is about you, not me." Urd revealed. "And both techniques have a greater chance of success if the participant is willing and has at least some trust with me." The woman leaned forward. "Don't get me wrong. I'm not asking you to suddenly trust me with your life-we met less than a full cycle ago, and I'm already making some demanding requests of you. But I will not force you, and I need you to be aware that at any point, if its getting too much for you, you have the power to tell me to 'stop'.
"And you'll honor that?" Ryoko asked.
Urd nodded. "On my pride as a goddess." She said.
Ryoko grimaced and looked away, and Urd leaned back in her chair, falling silent as Ryoko considered her options.
I want neither. The cyan-haired woman thought. I don't want her looking into my past any more than I want her…taking a piece of me. She closed her eyes, biting her thumb. But if I had to pick…The woman looked up from beneath long bangs. "…first choice." She said. "I'm…used to loosing pieces of myself. I'm not used to sharing my past."
Urd nodded. "I'll make it as fast as possible." She held a hand out. "May I see your arm?"
With rising anxiety, Ryoko offered her left arm to the goddess, and watched the woman lean back to retrieve something. The pirate could feel her heart quicken as the Norn grabbed what resembled a syringe and a band. With the swiftness of an expert, the woman tied the band around Ryoko's arm, disinfected the area with a small alcohol wipe, then began examining the inner area, searching for a vein. Her hands felt warm and gentle in a manner Ryoko had never experienced before, and before she knew it the syringe was against her skin and piercing the skin.
Ryoko grunted, and within seconds the syringe was out, Urd pressing a small bit of gauze against the puncture. "That's it." She said. "Hold the gauze for a bit."
The woman pushed her chair back, and clutching her arm, Ryoko stared at the Norn in confusion. "That's it." She said. "That's…what, just like that?"
"Well, for your part in it, yes." Urd announced, rising and holding the syringe vertically. With careful consideration, the goddess removed the needle and tossed it over her shoulder, where it vanished from sight. Ryoko didn't hear it impact anything, and wondered what became of it. "Now comes the real magic." With the open syringe in front of her, the woman released it, and Ryoko watched in confusion as it hovered in the air. The Norn began to hum, and the blood within began to jump, like water dancing to a sound frequency. The humming grew in pitch, and Urd's eyes closed as the floor became illuminated with a large, violet, magical circle. The blood in the syringe began to bubble and boil, and Ryoko began to feel the hum of Urd's song, vibrating on a frequency so deep that she felt it in her bones. The sensation made her stomach churn, and with a grimace she arched away from the goddess, leaning into the wall her chair rested beside as she beheld the Norn's strange magic.
For a second she thought she saw wings-one black, one white-and then the illusion was gone as Urd raised her hand, the blood flowing from the syringe as if held by an invisible string. The humming was replaced with singing, a clear, sharp song that was in equal parts exquisite as it was deafening, and Ryoko had to fight the desire to clamp her hands over her ears and flee.
The air itself seemed to be thrumming now, alive with static, as if the molecules themselves were reacting to the song, and Ryoko watched as Urd's hands-were they hands or were they talons?-condensed around the blood, conforming it into a small, tight, red gem.
Ryoko froze, staring at it in shock.
A gem.
Her gems. It looked like her gems-not the poor imitations which took centuries to create-cheap and weak, generating only a small fraction of her true power-but one of her actual gems, alive and glowing with power, with might, with Magatsuhi.
And then Urd clapped her hands over it, and the gem exploded into stardust.
Ryoko stared, too stunned, too horrified to speak, and watched with futile desperation as the particles descended around them.
Urd opened her hands, free and empty of either blood or stardust, and held her palms up, as if attempting to catch the falling stars. A deep frown of concentration sat on her face as she observed it, and below her the magic circle began to fade as her song ended.
"What is this?" She murmured, "Stardust? Mass?" The particles fell in silence, and with no small amount of trepidation, Ryoko reached her own hand out to catch the dust. It trembled.
Yet what she felt as the tiny particles touched her was power. The power of the core of a star. Atoms colliding with such speed and force they they decimated everything in their way. The grave desolation of space, and the white noise of silence made by neurons and electrons and protons as they danced around each other. She felt power without consciousness, and yet beneath that…
A heartbeat.
Her heartbeat.
And she was awash with salt water, staring into the corpse of a beast which had no name—With a gasp Ryoko withdrew her hand, scrambling up the arm of her chair and trying to put as much distance between herself and the particles as possible. "Urd-!"
At her voice the particles reacted, the silver stars coming to life and homing in on the Norn. Silver streaks of light collided with the goddess, and Urd brought her hands up to defend herself, only for the lights to pierce into her. The woman released a shout, and then the wings Ryoko thought she had imagined-one black, one white-appeared again, wrapping around the Norn's form as if to shield her.
With a cry of her own, Ryoko raced toward the woman, only to hear Urd's voice rise up in a muffled bellow, "Stay back!" Violet sparks of energy danced across the wings, across Urd's body, sparking and snapping with cruel intent.
The pirate froze, and with a roar the likes of which Ryoko had never heard before, the wings surged forward, then fell back around the Norn as Urd threw her hands to the ceiling. Lightning, plasma, danced across her body, and for the briefest of moments Urd looked less like a goddess and more like a demon-like the corpse, dead but dreaming, and its eyes roll back to her and-
The roof exploded in a hail of violent plasma, illuminating the room with such intensity that Ryoko feared she might go blind. Somewhere amidst the howl she thought she heard the door break down, thought she heard another voice-Marller-crying out to them both, and as the spell faded Ryoko found an after-image burned into her eyes: One of Urd, wings outstretched and terrible, as massive in power as she was small in size and thrice as deadly.
She heard something fall and recognized it at once; like a marionette whose strings had been cut, like a pirate whose power had been stolen, like a woman whose life had been extinguished-like a corpse rent in twain-and knew it was Urd.
She heard Marller's exclamation, and as she blinked away the after-image saw the demon cradling the fallen goddess in her arms. "Urd? Urd!" The woman called, "Damn it Urd, don't fuck around like this! I'll beat the ever-loving shit out of you, I swear, snap out of it!" The blond sounded panicked, her voice wavering in fear as she shook the woman.
Urd grunted, then grimaced. A low moan parted from her lips, and upon closer examination, Ryoko saw that they were singed and chapped. Like she kissed lightning. Ryoko thought, and felt a shiver race down her spine.
Something that sounded like a slurred curse left Urd's lips, and the woman blinked open violet eyes. One of the pupils was considerably more dilated than its sibling.
"Wha…" She began, and Marller bowed her head, sagging with relief.
"What was that?" Ryoko breathed.
Urd looked at her, and a the pirate came under the Norn's scrutiny, felt her heart skip a beat. There was an unearthly glow within the Norn's eyes, as if she still held the strange motes of starlight within her being, illuminating her from within. "The bird fights its way out of the egg." She breathed. "The egg is the world. Who would be born must first destroy a world. The bird flies to God. That God's name is Abraxas." She said, and shuddered, leaning into Marller, who wrapped her arms around the Norn's shoulders and drew her close. "I failed." She mumbled, "I couldn't figure it out. There was…there's a lock on your DNA, Ryoko. I can't…whoever made you was careful, because what I saw makes no sense, and what I'm missing I can't reveal." She closed her eyes, grimacing as she massaged her temples with a groan. "The Serpent bites its tail…what is dead dreams of a new world. The egg shall crack…" She lapsed into silence, looking small and fragile.
With a tight frown, Marller scooped the goddess up into her arms and laid her out on the bed. She stared down at the Norn, looking drawn and pale. The demon looked over her shoulder at Ryoko and growled. In it was a threat she could feel-and the pirate turned away, heading for the threshold as she stepped over the destroyed door at its entrance and slipping out. She found Loki at its outskirts, peering inside at the two woman with a deep and pensive frown.
The god noticed her and gave her a wane half-smile. Reaching out, he squeezed her shoulder. "You are not at fault." He murmured, his voice gentle and above all, kind. "Rest. Urd will be fine. Little exists which can threaten her." He hesitated a moment before adding, "She knew the risks."
And then he too was gone.
Ryoko stared, for the first time in her long life feeling a strange sensation of guilt and remorse for an action she was not at fault for. Then, with a deep grimace, the woman turned and headed for the front of the bar.
She needed a fucking drink.
Comments of a Madwoman: Treat your tube dogs with love and respect, or they may just possess and eat you.
Cathedral of Shadows:
Inugami: Japanese mythology—"Dog God"; a dog spirit common in west Japan. It possesses humans and drives them insane. Those possessed are called 'Inu-tsuki'. Dogs were once commonly sacrificed to create curses on others, giving rise to Inugami.
Hua Po: Chinese mythology—Tree spirits born when three or more people hang themselves from the same tree. They cannot talk, though they can chirp like birds. They will dry up if they don't receive water.
Abraxas: Aaahh….this one. I have forgotten.