Drageria

Ch.16: Judgment of a God, Death to Yakuza Part 3. (Final)

Tachibana briskly and slowly walked towards the remaining men bound in metal chains with an intimidating swagger, getting giddy from being able to act all intimidating on the inside while showing cold fury on the outside. Chronostasis lifted his battered face to stare down Tachibana in a sad attempt not to look weak, but gazing upon those multicolored eyes was far harder. Once he stood in front of them, he smiled sinisterly before speaking.

"Well well, looks like-.", he began to say until he was cut off.

"Where's Overhaul, freak!", Chronostasis yelled at him.

The suddenness of his outburst took Tachibana aback, but he returned his previous expression and said, "My my, quite the sharp tongue you have there? But don't worry; your boss is in….good hands."

With that statement, he dropped the unconscious body of Overhaul in front of the remaining Yakuza. A low gasp resounded around the members before Chronostasis ground his teeth and cursed the god, "You son of a bitch!"

Tachibana rolled his eyes before saying, "Yes, she was. But silence your anger; he's not dead yet anyway."

"So what, you're just gonna kill us too?", Shin Nemoto asked with a dark yet nervous tone.

Tachibana snorted at this, flicking the man's mask off, and reiterated, "As I said before, your boss isn't dead. And as for the rest of you, I haven't decided. Though I have a business to deal with one of your other members before I make my final decision."

Chronostasis was fully pissed off now, and grounding his teeth, he yelled in defiance, "If you think you'll get away with what you've done to us and our boss! You have a-MRPH!"

Before he could finish that thought, Tachibana shot out what looked like spider silk from his fingertip, covering the man's mouth.

"Oh, quiet now, child! Adults are talking.", Tachibana scolded him before walking over to Rappa, who had his head down from exhaustion and all his injuries. He said to the man, "Kendo Rappa, I presume?"

"Just….Rappa.", Rappa replied weakly.

"Well, just Rappa.", Tachibana giggled at his own joke. "I have an offer just for you.", he told the man while caressing his finger through his thick hair.

"And?", Rappa inquired further.

Tachibana chuckled in his throat as he rubbed his hand through his hair, explaining to the man, "I've seen into the minds of your employer, your cohorts, and even you. You only joined the Yakuza so you could fight, battle, and brawl with no restrictions. Fighting is everything to you, is it not?"

"Yes, it is.", Rappa admitted.

"Well then, swear to me—" Tachibana exclaimed while gripping the man's thick hair.

"Fuck.", Rappa cut him off with a cheeky grin.

"I mean, promise me.", The Dark God drowned out in a monotone. He then lightly traced his fingers off his hair and down to his chin, bringing it up to look him in the eye, telling him in a seductive-sounding tone, "Swear that you shall serve me till your dying breath! Do that as my newest bodyguard, and I will grant you what you desire. An opponent you can test your might and grow stronger against!"

Rappa perked up at this and began to ask while looking away, "You mean-?"

Tachibana smiles and confirms while looking at his bodyguard, "Oh yes, I do mean him. Crna Straza has been so incredibly bored lately that it's affecting his people skills. And I certainly can't keep him entertained 24/7, so that's where you'll come in. You and he guard my person, and you and he can fight to your heart's content in your off time."

Rappa was more than excited by this deal, but then something struck his mind, and he asked, "But….why to offer this…to me?"

Tachibana closed his eyes while letting go of his chin and told him in a serious yet understanding tone, "You have done many, many deplorable things in your past; I'll say that much about you.", he then opened his kind-colored eyes and caressed his face as he said, "However I cannot hold the sins your organization committed against that girl, against you. Although you did nothing to stop it, you also took no part in it. That is the only reason I'm making an exception for you.", he traced the outline of his lips, and immediately after pulling away, all of Rappa's wounds and exhaustion left his body as Tachibana inquired, "So what do you say?"

Without warning, Rappa broke out of his metallic bindings, shrapnel flying all over, making the many soldiers around guarding him jump and draw their weapons at him! Even the General whipped out his pistol and pointed it at the huge man in a panicked frenzy! All except Tachibana, who stood there unflinching and with a satisfied smile on his face.

Once free, Rappa got down on one knee, took Tachibana's hand, and kissed it as he proclaimed in a low tone, "From here on out, I am yours! Mind, soul, and body."

Tachibana couldn't contain the shiver that ran up his spine. He cooed with relief as he said quietly, "Well, I especially like that last part."

"What?", Rappa asked, barely hearing his words.

Tachibana returned to reality and said, "Oh, nothing."

As this went down, Mimic yelled at the end of his rope at his previous cohort during this exchange, "Rappa! You two-faced traitor! After all, we're done, and now you have decided to be a turncoat!?"

"Oh, please, Mimic. He didn't turn against you since he wasn't loyal, to begin with.", Tachibana stated matter-of-factly while rolling his eyes. This made the other large man look annoyed and inquisitive as the Dark God explained, "You gave him an offer he could be complacent with. I gave him an offer he couldn't refuse!"

Mimic ground his teeth angrily and watched as Rappa stood up and walked away from them like they now meant nothing to them. Joining his new coworker in the background, taking a relaxed position as he watched his new boss make his move against the last three top-ranked Yakuza.

Tachibana chuckled in his throat, and turning to the rest, he said, "But with that out of the way, let's see about the rest of you."

Mimic spit into the dirt and snapped at him defiantly, "Why don't you just kill us and get it over with."

Tachibana expressed shock and amusement at this and laughed at him, exclaiming, "Kill you?! HA! No, no, no! I'm not deciding on that…just yet." Tachibana took a more aloof yet serious tone and told them, placing a hand over his heart, "I'm a merciful God, so I want to give you boys a chance."

"Chance?", Mimic said the word back, as if trying to figure out if it was an insult.

Chronostasis, who at this point cut off his own gag with his quirk, asked him with a hiss in his tone, "And will you give this same chance to Overhaul?"

Tachibana felt anger rush up through him at this question. He knew that Chronostasis was just trying to get under his skin, but he wouldn't allow it to happen. He closed his eyes and tightened his hands around his forearms to keep his anger at bay. He replied as calmly as I could, "Your leader is a lost cause, plain and simple. He's gone down the rabbit hole deeper than any other, and there is no turning back or help for someone like him. But the rest of you have a glimmer of hope.", the three men stared at the God with confused expressions, waiting for an explanation. Tachibana then stood with his hand displayed out before the men, looking like one of those motivational heroic statues, and exclaimed like some great leader, "Turn away from your wicked deeds and turn over a new leaf. Those of you who remained or used to be amongst the living only worked for this organization out of necessity, fear, or a misplaced sense of loyalty. Go back and turn yourselves in, do your time, and come out as proper citizens. Live out your life on good terms and not wicked deeds. Do this, and you will live out your full life expectancy. Refuse, and I cut it short!", He finished the last part in a threat.

The three men sat in awe and struck silence as they processed his words. Looking between one another before looking back at his calm yet threatening disposition. Before any words were shared, Chronostasis began to laugh. First, it was low and repressed chuckling before exploding into a full-blown gut laugh! Tachibana looked on at this inquisitively and waited for him to finish up his apparent breakdown.

Chronostasis finally calmed down after his crazed laughter streak and spat at him with venom in his tone, "So you want us to go straight, turn ourselves in for our crimes, and then get out when we're all old and wrinkly with nothing to our names? Fat chance, Dork God!"

"If you think this is the end, then you're sadly mistaken!" Mimic added with a devilish smile.

"Do you know how many of our goons are on that ship and back in Japan? We're gonna tear this place apart for what you did!", Shin Nemoto threatened him.

"The Yakuza will never die! We've been around since before the emergence of quirks! When you-!", Chronostasis tried to finish up their promise of revenge and bloodshed until Tachibana cut them off with a lax and not bothered attitude, only adding fuel to the fire.

"Yeah, yeah, cut one head off, and more take its place. A seemingly immortal cycle that almost can't be beaten. Blah blah blah.", He waved them off dismissively, making them stew angrily. Tachibana then sighed sadly while looking away from them, making them confused as he told them in a melancholy tone, "Though I have to say, if this is your final choice….", He drew out before whipping his head towards them wildly feral multicolored eyes, and saying in a demonic tone, "Then I'm highly disappointed!"

Without hesitation, Tachibana summoned a huge wall of darkness that closed off around them into a huge dome! When darkness fell on the shocked Yakuza, they frantically looked around in the darkness as their eyes tried to adjust quickly! They felt a twinkle of relief when they saw two small lights within the space. They wondered what they were and where they were coming from, but that question was quickly answered and regretted as fear set into the men.

Realizing that the two lights were two multicolored eyes that bled through the blackness, Tachibana lunged at them before they could react or scream!

The General, the young officer, and all the troops waited and anxiously watched the black dome. It had only been a minute, yet it felt like ages! The curiosity of wanting to know what was happening within made the waiting process just that much harder. Then, the dome fell as fast as it aroused.

It revealed a very satisfied-looking Tachibana and the hollow-looking corpses of the last few Yakuza lying on the ground with horrified expressions on their faces! Tachibana licked his lips with satisfaction while getting all fidgety and giddy.

"So goooooooooooood!", he squealed with delight. What a feast! What a feast! I may not eat dinner tonight," he said while bouncing up and down.

"My Lord.", The General grabbed his attention away from his self-pleasure before inquiring, "What shall we do with the bodies and the boat?"

"Feed them to my children.", Tachibana answered without skipping a beat.

"You're spoiling them, my Lordship.", MacArthur gave him a disappointed eyebrow raise.

Tachibana shrugged nonchalantly and stated, "They rarely get to partake of human flesh. And there's no reason to waste good food." The General just sighed at this while giving a nonverbal signal, to which the other soldiers collected the dead Yakuza, preparing to take them to the Dragons. Once that was taken care of, Tachibana put his arm around the General's shoulder and pointed out to sea, saying, "As for the ship, Apalala is already taking care of it."

The General looked out towards the large ship the Yakuza arrived on and saw how the Water Dragon himself was stringing up a real mess of the sea in the area right before he raised the ship up and then knocked himself into it! Causing the whole vessel to capsize and sink into the rough water! Once gone from sight, the sea returned to normal, and only one of Apalala's dorsal fins was seen before skinning back into the water.

Seeing everything settle to a more normal consensus, MacAuthor turned to the unconscious form of Overhaul and asked, "Shall we execute him?"

Tachibana shook his head at this and stated in a malicious tone, "Oh no, no, no! I have no intention to kill him. I have something far worse in mind."

A Few Hours Later in the Dragon's Roost.

When Overhaul finally awoke, he felt like he had been broken without remorse and struck sicker than someone with alcohol poisoning. He sat up from….a bed of straw? He rubbed his head, which was pounding faster than a bullet train. When he did, he heard something metallic rattle, and his arm felt heavier than normal. When he looked at it, it was clasped with a cuff with several chain links! His hand was completely bound to what looked like webbing with only his index and thumb free! He had another clap around his neck and connected it to several feet of chain! He looked at his opposite arm and was horrified to see that it was completely missing! Nothing left but a burnt stump! He looked around the area he was in and saw he was in some kind of room made of stone! The only things in there were a bed of straw, a conspicuous bucket, and several feet of chain that no doubt allowed him to move to all corners. He was about to rush into a full-blown panic attack when a familiar voice spoke up and made his blood boil with anger!

"Oh good, you're finally awake.", said the voice from a darkened corner. When the figure emerged, it was revealed to be Tachibana. The man walked towards him and said with a fak,e worried tone, "I was beginning to think I had broken you too quickly. Glad I was wrong this time."

"You!", Overhaul yelled while trying to attack him, only to realize he was still bound.

As the Yakuza Boss observes the chains, Tachibana giggles and inquires, "Do you like them? I made them just for you."

Overhaul looked at him weirdly and asked back furiously, "What have you done to me!?"

Tachibana sighed while rolling his eyes at watching him try and break free before saying, "Oh, don't even try and struggle. You'll never break out of those bindings. I made sure of that. Be happy I allowed you to have access to your thumb and index finger so you can at least wipe your ass when you shit."

Overhaul strained against his restraints while rapidly whipping his head around, all before yelling in demand, "You asshole! What is this place!?"

Tachibana chuckled while motioning around the room with open arms, saying, "It's your new room. I hope you like it; after all, I did make it with your quirk."

Overhaul stopped struggling and looked at him with utter confusion. Then, in a far more somber tone, he asked, "My….my quirk?"

Tachibana grins with his sharp teeth at the question and happily explains, "That's what happens when I eat a soul. I take what you have, which is who you are. Although I only took a speck, I'm unable to use its full potential. Nearly passed out from it on the first try! I'm surprised by your resilience from such a physically tasking ability."

Overhaul backed away from him at this and asked back challengingly, "Why even keep me alive if you're just gonna eat me?"

Tachibana giggled at the question like it was coy and reminded him, "As I said before, you are a very rare and exotic meal! It would be a waste just to eat you in one go. So I'm gonna savor it for as long as I can. Every once in a while, I feel peckish. I'll take a speck and clean you up afterward."

Overhaul's eyes widened at his reflection of memories not too far ago, and he felt terror and anxiety rush up his body! He threw himself back against the wall and yelled like a cornered animal, raising his one fist, "You mean what you did before? No way I'll let it happen! That hurt like hell! I'll fight you!"

Tachibana rolled his eyes at his statement and told him coldly, "You'll get used to it. Be grateful that I'm restraining myself in the first place. And what do you mean you'll fight me? You don't have a choice or the power to do so!"

Overhaul dropped his head, a shadow covering his face as he asked in a low tone before exploding, "Why are you doing this?... What's your end goal!"

"You should know that already.", Tachibana said as his malicious expression melted into one of irritation. He quickly poofed over to the frightened man, making him freeze up, and felt his breath on his ear as he whispered, "It's Eri."

"Eri?", he questioned back.

Tachibana raised his head from the man's ear, looking down and looming over him with just his mere presence alone. The man crumbled into himself, slumping to the floor as the Dark God berated him with controlled fury, "You hurt her, abused her, used her for your selfish gains! You locked her up like an animal, treated her like a human guinea pig, and only fed her enough to keep her alive! So I'm simply gonna do the same things you did to her.", he announced while poking his chest with the tip of his clawed finger. He pulled the finger away and said with a manic tone and expression in his eyes, "You're gonna live in this place and be my feeding trough. You made her suffer, so I'm gonna make you suffer! That is my end goal! I'll pick away at your very soul bit by bit until you're nothing more but a shell of your former self."

Overhaul was more than terrified at this point, but he tried his bluff card not to look weak! Jumping to his feet and yelling into the much taller man's face in challenge, "I'll get out of here, somehow! And when I do…..YOUR DEAD!"

Tachibana smiles at his promise and vaguely says back, "And you will."

Taken aback by this, Overhaul asks back, confused, "What?"

"You will get out of here. Somehow, someday. Chains are meant to be broken, and you're no different. But when that day comes, you will be hollow and have nothing to return to. You won't even see me. Cause I won't be the one who ends you. It'll be the one who took your precious experiment in the first place.", he explains his statement while walking away to a flat stoney wall of the room while placing a hand on it.

"Then I'll kill him!", Overhaul shouts back definitely while biting on his lip hard enough to make it bleed.

Tachibana then begins to laugh manically and loudly for a long time, making the man cower back at the unusual reaction. Once he stops his laughter, he simply looks over his shoulder and replies, "You won't." After seeing his lack of a violent reaction and fearful expression, Tachibana turns back to the wall and says, "Anyway, I hope you and your new roommate like it here."

"Roommate?", Overhaul questions.

The dark God melts into the stone wall like a liquid right before his eyes. Just before he left, He turned around and explained to him very briefly before disappearing, "Yes, my son Fafnir. He can never get along with his other siblings and is always soooooo lonely. I always promised to get him something to keep him company, and now he has a caged canary to sing. Well….enjoy."

Once he is gone, Overhaul notices that there is still another presence in the room. He also notices that despite having no lights, somehow, the room is still illuminated. Before he can question anything, he feels hot air blow on his body. But it isn't air from the wind; it sounds, feels, and smells like someone or something blew it at him. The next thing that happens is he hears a strange gurgling noise coming from one of the opposing walls.

He slowly turned his head towards where he felt the hot air blowing at him and saw that one of the walls was unlike the others. Instead of flat solid stone, it was more like the bars of a cage; I know on the other side was the light source he was seeing. Only it wasn't a natural kind of light; it was the kind of light that reflected off the fire. He tried to focus his eyes to see what exactly was causing the light and what had blown that hot air on him before, and then he saw something that made his blood run cold. A single giant amber eye that glowed like fire! He heard the same gurgling noise again. This time, it was mixed with something like chuffing or a growl, which was soon followed by a scaly mouth filled with sharp teeth! A mouth that opened wide and made a roar so loud it shook him to his soul!

Overhaul forced himself against the furthest part of the room to escape whatever was on the other side! He didn't know what it was or where it came from; all he knew was that it was big, very, very big! His heartbeat raced, his pulse quickened, his body sweat, his breath went ragged from fear, and his pupils dilated! He felt a primal fear well up deep within his body. A fear that predates back to his ancestors hiding in fear of predators. A fear that should have long been forgotten but is now awoken by the creature on the other side of his cell!

He thought that he might be safe in the cage, but he wasn't entirely wrong. The creature pressed its nose and face hard against the stony cell walls as if trying to break them open but never being able to. Then the creature pulled a 1000 IQ moment, pressed his lips in between the bars, and stuck his tongue through! And much to his horror and surprise, the tongue was far longer than he anticipated! It stretched across the small cell and barely reached overhaul enough to skim his body lightly! Overhaul was powerless to do anything!

Nothing, except scream!

Several Minutes Later, in the Main Foyer

Tachibana stood in the castle's main foyer with Rappa, Crna Straza, and Cherry. The Dark God gave the large man the general rundown of what was to be expected of him. With a regal yet serious mannerism, he spoke cordially yet firmly with him.

"Alright, Rappa, although I've made you a fully-fledged citizen and given you a job, that doesn't mean you're out of the woods yet. As a new citizen, I expect you to behave as such. Follow our rules and laws, don't pick fights, don't attack random citizens without actual reasoning, or brawl with Crna Straza whenever you feel like it. You still have a job, and you're expected to do it and only brawl in the correct areas.", He told him flat out in a no-nonsense, no-argument tone.

Rappa flexed his fists on his hips, smiling happily as he proclaimed, "If I can work with Yakuza, I can follow your laws and rules."

Tachibana smiled with a sense of relief washing over him as he replied, "We're far laxer than the Yakuza, so I'm glad to hear that. Also, I'll need you to change that make of yours. Eri may not remember you, but she still has this thing against birds."

Rappa waves his hand and quickly says, "Say no more. My old mask was much different when I was Rappa the Reaper."

"What? That's amazing!", Tachibana exclaimed while holding in his laughter. After snorting a few times to restrain himself, he jokingly asked, "What were you, a luchador?"

"Underground masquerade cage fighter, Tachibana-san.", Rappa told him disturbingly fluidly.

'Should've expected that.', Tachibana said in his mind while retracting his bursting laughter.

At hearing his nonchalantness, Crna Straza angrily grabbed Rappa by his hair and yelled, "Hey! Don't refer to Lord Tachibana so casually! Refer to him by his proper title!"

"Calm down, Crna Straza.", Tachibana soothes the Dark Knight, who releases his new partner's hair. Tachibana looked towards Rappa and told him calmly, "Rappa, you're more than welcome to refer to me casually, apart from in serious business settings or in public. Speaking of such, I expect great things from you in your job."

"One question, though.", Rappa interjected before giving any sort of confirmation. "Why exactly do you need a bodyguard in the first place? I've never seen someone take down Overhaul as you did. I find it kind of redundant.", Rappa asked him.

Tachibana chuckled, sighed, and then told him, "It's more of a statement to have as my Body Servant than having you act like one.", Tachibana realized what he had just said and tried to hide his embarrassment and yelled out in self-correction "BODYGUARD! Body-guard! That's what I meant to say!"

Rappa and Crna Straza both looked at the God strangely, while he looked back at them as blood rushed to his face. He cleared his throat and, trying to sound dignified and sophisticated, he continued saying, "The bottom-I mean-the point is that if you do anything stupid, I'll be the first one to lick your butt-I mean smack your butt-I mean kick! That's right! Kick. I'll kick your butt personally!", Tachibana grows more and more red with every sentence he says, while Rappa and Crna Straza just look at him. Now, trying his best to sound serious and somewhat threatening, he exclaims, "I've got my thighs-EYES-I've got my eyes on you."

Utter silence washes through the room between the three of them as Tachibana's pale skin looks bright pink at this point! Rappa and Crna Straza still say nothing until this point, which Tachibana finds even more torturous than his true desires slipping out!

After a very long and awkward silence, Rappa steps forward and asks calmly yet kindly, "Tachibana-san, do you…..want me?"

Steam pops out from the top of the Dark God's horns as he stumbles over his words in a pathetic attempt to make himself look in control, telling him while looking away and waving his hand, "W-What?! Don't be ridiculous! It was just a simple suck of the tongue-SLIP-slip of the tongue."

Tachibana wanted nothing more than to bury his hands into his face yet rip his whole head off for being such an idiot and not acting like he should! As if things couldn't get worse, the one person he wanted least of all to hear him talk like this showed up around the corner.

Her hand was on her face, and she shook her head slowly and disapprovingly at the scene. She then sighed and said, "Oh, for nature's sake, Lord Tachibana, that last one wasn't even clever or a homonym or accidental. You're doing this on purpose. Why don't you just get double-teamed by them already?"

Tachibana spun around so fast that his body did a 180. He stared at the fairy lady with a shocked and embarrassed expression, exclaiming to her scoldingly, "F-Fay! H-How dare you say that about your leader! Y-You should be ashamed!"

Fay rolls her eyes at this before doing a curtsy and saying in a completely unapologetic tone, "Oh right, my mistake, Lord Tachibana. Forgive me for mislabeling you. Your current taste isn't Bara's, but red-haired twinks.", If Tachibana could grow even redder in the face then he certainly was now. Cherry was following suit as his cheeks began to darken from the statement. Fay giggles at this and adds more to it, telling Tachibana in a teasing sing-song tone, "You know I hear that the drapes match the carpets."

Tachibana had taken as much as he could of all this humiliation and finally snapped from embarrassment!

"Enough of this!", He yelled loud enough to shake the whole foyer before grabbing Cherry's hand and proclaiming with a serious-sounding tone while closing his eyes to look astute, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go do Cherry-I MEAN-go do work with Cherry! That's what I meant to say! Now I need to get under him-I MEAN-need to get things under control!", Tachibana regretted the moment he opened his eyes to see what was happening. He sure as hell didn't like it. Rappa and Crna Straza still have the same mutually confused expressions as before, while Fay was something in between blushing and ready to burst out into laughter! The Dark God's face grew so hot his hair set on fire, and he half yelled while dragging the red-haired man away, "We gotta go!"

Just before they ran out of sight, Fay yelled out in one last vexing, "Go working hard on Cherry!?"

That was the last straw that Tachibana had any control over his body! The Dark God tripped over his two feet and knocked into a decorative table with a large and beautifully painted vase! The vase wiggled and jiggled before falling over and crashing into pieces on the floor!

"Dammit, Fay! That was my favorite vase!", He yelled while running off with the red-haired man whose face now matched it.

Once they were gone, or so they assumed he was, Rappa happily placed his fists on his hips and excitedly proclaimed, "I feel like I'm gonna like it much more around here."

Fay flew up to his eye level and excitedly told him, "I'm sure you will! We have lots of fun!"

"Like Tachibana-san and Cherry-san?", Rappa inquires with a chuckle.

"Stop it, or you're next!", he hears Tachibana yell from somewhere, showing they weren't totally out of earshot.

After another few minutes of waiting around and ensuring their leader wasn't close enough to hear, Rappa told Fay in a lower tone, "I'll be honest, I would've said yes if he asked."

Fay gasped at his disclosure, only to gasp again and even louder as Crna Straza proclaimed with a clenched fist and gleamed off his helmet, "I can only dream of such a fantasy."

Fay giggled and squealed while twisting and turning spins and circles in the air before saying childishly, "What I wouldn't give to watch that."

Seconds Later in a Different Room

Once Tachibana had dragged Cherry off into another room of the castle, he locked the two of them in there and waited until he was sure no one could hear them or that they weren't followed, which they most likely weren't. They stayed in that room, sitting against the wall, breathing calmly as they waited for their embarrassment to subside. Once, it did. They talked about the decision to be the adult here and apologized for what he had put his underlings through.

"I'm….real sorry about that, Cherry. I'll have a word with Fay later.", He apologized to the red-haired man.

Cherry side, waving his hand, told him, "Don't bother, my Lord. She'll just do it again…later. You know how she is."

"Sometimes I regret giving her the job I did.", Tachibana growls aggravatingly, slapping his forehead.

Cherry relaxes a bit more, starting to slide off towards the other man's shoulder, practically resting on it, as he says, "Ah yes, but who else can handle it better but her."

Tachibana chuckles at this and admits, "Fair enough."

When the two of them turned their heads to one another, neither of them noticed just how close they were. In fact, they were now nose-to-nose with one another. Both men's eyes widened with shock at seeing the other so close, but neither pulled away. Instead, they both sat there staring at one another. Cherry stared into Tachibana's rainbow-colored eyes and taught you about staring into the closed lenses of Cherry's face. It was like a moment out of a TV show, where the two star-crossed lovers get into a certain position and feel like everything around them stops for a just moment!

In Tachibana's mind, there was no turning back; it was now or never! He had liked Cherry all the way from the first time they met, but he never had the spine to admit it directly to his face. He knew Cherry felt the same way, though he never wanted to accept either reality. And yet here they were, now in a seemingly compromising position.

So, at that very moment, Tachibana closed his eyes, pursed his lips, and slowly leaned toward the red-haired man. Cherry's breath halted for a moment as his lips pursed, and he, too, began to turn and lean in toward his leader. Their lips were now within blinking distance of one another.

Before anything else could happen between the two of them, A very loud yet happy young female voice called out, "Tachibana! Tachibana!"

The two of them immediately stopped what they were doing, and Tachibana flew to his feet, face completely pink, and blitzed over to the door, where he kicked it open! Luckily for Eri, who was standing on the opposite side of that door, she had the luck of being just far enough for it not to get hit by it! The young girl didn't seem to notice the danger she was just in as she happily smiled at seeing the Dark God.

"Oh! Hello Eri!", Tachibana announced while moving towards the girl and picking her up into his arms, leaving a red-faced Cherry to hide his face in embarrassment. Tachibana put on a calm, controlled facade as he looked over at the girl and complimented her, "My my, aren't you looking pretty and purple."

"Big sis Arete dressed me.", Eri happily told him.

"Well, she sure has an eye for fashion.", Tachibana agreed.

"Tachibana.", Eri asked, getting an inquisitive expression from the man. "What happened before?", She asked vaguely.

Tachibana gave her a curious look before asking, "What do you mean?"

Eri seemed to detract at this, fiddling with her fingers like it was uncomfortable, before explaining to him, "Well, I was in my room when some guards took me to yours. It was all so scary and strange. They didn't let me leave. But Arete was there with me but didn't tell me why I had to stay."

Tachibana knew that Eri was a smart girl, and she was at the age where something like that would be strange. So, thinking fast, he thought up a half-truth to explain to her without telling her what happened: "Oh, that! My children had gotten out of their room, and we were rowdy, unnecessarily. So I had to keep you safe so you wouldn't be in harm's way. So sorry about that."

"Tachibana? " she asked again, this time in a much more dejected tone. Eri seemed to falter momentarily when asking her question as if this was uncomfortable. Then she finally worked up the courage to say, "Is….he gonna come here?"

Tachibana looked at the young girl surprised and asked back in a soothing tone, "Why, Eri, dearie, what gave you that idea?"

Eri's eyes began to well up with tears as she stumbled hard with his words in a shaky tone, telling him, "When I took a nap earlier, I dreamt that he came and killed you, Izuku, and everyone else. Then took me away and put me in that awful place…..he's not going to find me, is he?"

Tachibana looked at the young girl sympathetically and kindly while cooing to her, "Eri, sweetheart, darling, love. Don't you remember what I told you?"

"Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhh….", She droned off, clearly not remembering what he said or having any recollection of what he was referring to.

Tachibana side inwardly at having to repeat himself again today and told her in a calming yet assured tone, "I told him that there's no way he could track you here, and on the slim chance he does. He'd never be able to get to you. And there's no way he, of all people, could kill me. So many have tried, and very few have come close. Still, I can assure you he possesses no power even close to that level.", He then repositions the girl in his arms, sitting her on his chest, so this way, she's looking fully at him and tapping her nose; he assured her firmly, "You're safe here Eri, and you always will be."

Eri smiles at this as tears roll down her red cheek face. She wraps her tiny arms around the man's neck, snuggling into him as she says, "I love you, Tachibana."

"I love you too, Eri." Tachibana hugs the girl back, burying his face into her gorgeous white hair. He then looks up from her head with a deadly expression, one that the girl doesn't see, and tells her in a kind tone, "And I promise you, he'll never hurt you again."

Later at Dinner

Tachibana: So Izuku. How was your day?

Izuku: It was…..different.

Tachibana: Different how?

Izuku: I attempted to make friends with your kids.

Tachibana *excited: Really!? How'd it go?! Which one of my little brats are you on good terms with?

Izuku: Ladon, Apalala, Tanit, and Fafnir….I think.

Tachibana *pointing to Tanit: Seriously?! Tanit! As in her!? What did you do to get on her good side?

Izuku: I sacrificed something of value.

Tachibana: Young lady, you better give back whatever Izuku gave to you, back to him!

Tanit: *sticks out tongue*

Izuku: It's fine. I think I need to start something new anyway.

Tachibana: I'm honestly surprised that you didn't make nice with Quetzy. She's usually so chill.

Izuku: I caught her while she was singing. It was really quite beautiful and serenading.

Quetzalcoatl: *angry shocked*

Tachibana: See, sweetheart, I told you you had a beautiful singing voice. You should have more confidence in yourself and not viciously attack anyone out of embarrassment.

Quetzalcoatlus: *hides face embarrassed in wings*

Izuku: By the way. Who's the new guy holding Eri? *Pointing over to Rappa*

Tachibana: Oh. That's Rappa, my new bodyguard.

Rappa: *waves while holding up Eri*

Eri: *Braiding flower into Rappa's hair*

Izuku *concerned: Riiiiiiight.

Tachibana: Don't you think he and Eri are getting along so well is the cutest thing ever?

Izuku *still concerned: Sure.