(That night, I dreamed...)
Osamu's mind has sent him on a vacation during his slumber, allowing him to rest on the shore of a beach, alongside a very familiar fox goddess. Those fluffy, nine tails, blood-red eyes, and scarred body...it was none other than Inari Okami.
Osamu: You again...
Inari simply smiled. No matter how many times this same dream would repeat itself, Osamu would always be on the brink of tears just from looking at Inari's face. It reminded him so much of their short but sacred time together, the feelings they overcame, and the blood they shed alongside each other.
Inari: You're crying?
Osamu: I'm sorry! It burns in here, every time I dream about you.
Osamu pointed to his heart, a permanent reminder of Inari's sacrifice.
Osamu: No matter how many times I see you, I can never figure out what to say! I don't know if I should say sorry, or hello, I miss you, or please come back. I just don't know, so all I end up doing is crying.
Inari laid her hand over Osamu's heart, closing her eyes as she felt it beating beyond his chest.
Inari: There it is. There's my heart. It's happy with you. It says you've been treating it very well. It says that it loves you.
Osamu: Really?
Inari: You don't have to say anything to me. You said it all when you gave me your heart, and I replied when I gave you mines. So, don't fret, Osamu.
Osamu wiped away his tears and turned his head to the sky, holding Inari's hand as he laid on the sand with her, the hum of the sea ringing out in waves.
Osamu: I've gotten out of the emotional hole I was in when we met. I had children and did just as you told me to. However, there's something I have to do. It's going to be difficult. I don't know if I have the strength or time to do it. I'm scared.
Inari: That's fine, isn't it? You have my heart. I've gone through harsh things with it, so I know it's hardened enough to protect you. Whatever it is you need to do, like always, we'll divide the pain and survive together. Just because I'm dead, it doesn't mean I've ever left you.
Osamu: You're right...thanks, Inari.
(I'll do my best...)
*WAKE UP*Osamu shot up from the bed in the basement, gasping and short on breath. He calmed his heart and took deep, slow breaths as he surveyed the room, only to spy with his tired eyes, bras, panties, shorts, and shirts all around the floor, as well as his naked, soundly sleeping brides surrounding him.
Osamu: Okay...I have to move.
Osamu immediately got up and put his clothes on. Just in case, he locked the basement door from the inside, so the girls would have time to prepare if the children intruded. He slowly climbed up the creaky stairs in bare feet, and his Male symbol necklace dangling around his neck. The faint of noise of teacups banging against each other startled him as he looked around the corner, into the kitchen. All he saw was Fuyumi sitting on her knees on the counter, trying to get a glass from the cabinet. Her hair was in twin tails, and she wore pink, fuzzy socks with a black shirt marked with the Senkumo clan symbol.
Osamu: Fuyumi?
*PANIC*Fuyumi yelled out in frantic surprise, almost falling off of the counter before Osamu supported her back.
Fuyumi: Y-you scared me!
Osamu: Sorry! I didn't know you were up!
Fuyumi: I always wake up early! Everyone else sleeps in!
Osamu: Right...can't deny that one...Anyway, what are you looking for?
Fuyumi: A glass for Peach juice. Can you get it fr me, Dad?
Osamu: Sure thing, love.
And so, Osamu and Fuyumi sat next to each other at the kitchen counter. Fuyumi hummed an improvised tune and sung her feet as she sipped peach juice from her glass.
Osamu: Hey, Fuyumi.
Fuyumi: Mmm?
Osamu: Do you love mommy?
Fuyumi: Which one?
Osamu: Your birth mother, Gekko.
Fuyumi: Of course I do! Don't tell Mama Yoko, but I think Gekko is the best mommy here! She's better at cooking and I like her kisses better.
(Yeah, she'd definitely flip if she heard that...)
Osamu: Alright, I won't tell her that. Gekko is a pretty good cook, huh? What's your favorite dish?
Fuyumi: Crepes!
Osamu: You've got peach juice on your lips.
Fuyumi: I do?
Osamu gladly wiped Fuyumi's mouth for her with a napkin. She smiled and finished off her juice, then rinsed the glass in the sink. Osamu turned his eyes to the stairs, and then to the clock.
(8:14 AM...the others should've been downstairs by now...)
Osamu: Hey, are your siblings still sleeping?
Fuyumi: Uh, they were when I left the room.
Osamu stood at the foot of the stairs and yelled out to wake everyone up, but there was no answer.
Osamu: Man, did they stay up late or-
The sound of tiny feet slapping against the floor at a fast pace alerted Osamu as Fuyumi ran into his side with a butcher knife. As if everything had gone in slow motion, Osamu saw Fuyumi piercing his side with the blade with his very own eyes. The butcher knife was already handle-deep into his side before he even felt any pain or burning.
So much force behind the little girls charge. Her tackle knocked Osamu against the wall, knocking over the small table and pictures hung on the wall. He laid on the floor, his vision blurring as he watched Fuyumi get on her feet with teary eyes and slowly back away.
Osamu: Fuyumi...what did...
(I knew it...so the kids were acting as a diversion by not coming downstairs...)
Fuyumi: I'm sorry, Dad. I'm really, really sorry! But...you have to die!
As horrible as the moment was, having the blade still stuck in his side was the only thing keeping him from bleeding out and wasting away all of Inari's precious essence. Fuyumi's objective was to kill Osamu with as little blood-loss as possible.
Osamu: Fuyumi! Why?! I'm your father!
Fuyumi: I know that! And I love you! But Amaterasu...
Yuuto: Don't say it, Fuyumi.
Finally, the rest of Osamu's children came downstairs, still dressed in the pajamas their parents bought for them. Osamu's heart sank as he realized that Cyanide's warning had come true. His own children were more loyal to Amaterasu than their father.
Osamu: All of you...I already know. I know...Amaterasu wanted this...so that's why...you didn't kiss Yoko last night...she would've known...the moment you touched her lips...
Osamu could see, as his children couldn't even bare to look at him, that none of them really wanted to do this. Perhaps that was the most heartbreaking part for Osamu. Even as he laid stabbed and bleeding, he felt their anguish more than he did his own.
Osamu: Damn it! What is this?! Fuyumi, you such a gentle girl! You're smart and well-mannered! You should never have to hold a weapon!
His exertion and yelling only hurt him more, but he so badly and desperately wanted to reach out to his children's hearts that he dared to scream and cry even if it would kill him.
Osamu: Yuuto! You're supposed to protect your sisters! Keep them away from awful tasks like this! Ishima, Kasumi, your mother always tried to lead you on the right path! Your mother loves justice, and you should too! Kiyoko, you're even more gentle than your mother! This isn't you!
Kasumi: Yuuto...
Yuuto: I'll do it. Give it to me.
Kasumi closed her eyes, as if to shut away the awful sight of her father bleeding before her. She handed Yuuto a choking wire in silence.
(They're going to...no!)
Osamu tried crawling away to the front door, staining the tiles with his blood. He was dragged back into the kitchen by Ishima and Kasumi after they so pitifully watched him try to escape.
Osamu: Stop! Kasumi! Ishima! Stop it now!
Kicking his legs, Osamu managed to hit Ishima in her face, but was soon pinned down by the rest of the kids. Kiyoko performed a 4-sequence Kuji-in, invoking a spell that would act like invisible chains and prevent Osamu from moving a finger. The only child he could see was Kasumi, who's face was soaked in tears.
Osamu: Kasumi...please...don't do this!
Kasumi: I love you, Dad! One day, when I die too, I hope you can forgive me when we meet again.
Those words hurt more than the knife and spell that paralyzed him. These children were so young, and they already knew their lives would be short, as is the case with most exorcists. They were already thinking about death, and where their souls would go afterward.
Osamu: Kasumi! All of you! Kill me if you want! I will still love you! I love you now, and I'll love you in heaven or in hell! Nothing will change that! But please, for your sake, you've got to stop!
Yuuto tightly wrapped the wire around Osamu's neck, stopping his breathing and choking him. He could not scream, nor could he groan in pain. As Yuuto grew closer to killing his father, his sisters all clasped their hands in silent prayer, wishing Osamu's soul only the best treatment in the afterlife.
(No...why like this?! I can't die like this!)
Osamu's neck and face turned red, and was nearly on its way to purple. Once his breathing stopped, it would only be a matter of time before his heart would too.
An abrupt shockwave shattered all the windows and the doors leading to the backyard, knocking Osamu's children across the kitchen and littering the floor with shards of broken glass. As he was free of Yuuto's grip, Osamu could breathe once again, though his ears rang and popped from the sudden explosion in a nauseating, high pitch tone.
Cyanide: Oi, Osamu! Are you alright?!
Osamu couldn't have been more glad to see that chain-smoking, messy-haired exorcist with the wrinkled suit and tie, Cyanide. He freed Osamu's neck of the wire and sat him up against the counter as the kids screamed and recovered from the blast.
Osamu: Cyanide...how did you know?
Cyanide: I didn't, actually. I came here for a visit, to discuss your kids with you, but I heard you screaming from the front door. So, I went around back.
Osamu: Hehe...glad you did.
*BLEU*Cyanide's suspicions were confirmed as Osamu's children staggered onto their feet, some of them lightly bleeding.
Cyanide: Honestly...this is the one time in my life I wish I was wrong about something. You kids are so young, and already, you're being told to murder someone.
Kiyoko: Cyanide?
Yuuto: I don't want to do this, but it has to be done! Inari's blood and heart are incredibly powerful! Amaterasu can't allow Osamu to just carry it with him, it has to be removed! Osamu will be fine in the afterlife as long as he dies now and gives his blood and heart to her! It will make Amaterasu more powerful than she's ever been!
Cyanide: Yuuto...what a shame. I really admired you. Your father did too.
Cyanide lit a cigarette with his flip-top match and took a long puff.
Cynaide: Did you realize you stopped calling Osamu "Dad", right there? It seems your sense of duty as an exorcist has eclipsed your sense of humanity.
Fuyumi: What do you know?! These are Lady Amaterasu's orders! Stopping us is a direct violation of her divine edict!
Cyanide: Do you even know the history of the gods, young girl? The gods have always been in search of new powers, killing each other and even humans to obtain it, whatever it was at the time. Things reached a boiling point once, resulting in the Onin War, leading right into the Warring States period. Your very mother was a victim of the greed of that era. Tsukiakari knows all about divine greed.
Fuyumi: Be quiet!
Cyanide: Bishamon wanted so badly to usurp Amaterasu and failed. He came pretty damn close though, until your father stopped him. This greed continued more covertly during the Edo period, when Amaterasu intended to hunt Inari Okami, since she was garnering so many prayers at the time. Just by sheer popularity alone, Inari was on her way to eclipsing Amaterasu. Then, she inadvertently forced Inari into a life of devouring flesh and blood to survive, and somewhere along the way, her powers became apparent.
*SMOKE*Cyanide: My point is, you may think you're helping a great, divine cause, but you're really only perpetuating a very big problem that has plagued this world for generations. Godly greed corrupts both humans and gods, and still manages to make victims of them both as well. If you kill your father here and now, you will only allow history to repeat itself, and more blood will be shed. This is your only warning. Stop, before you make a horrible mistake.
Osamu: Cyanide, please don't hurt them!
Cyanide: That's their choice, Osamu. So, what's it going to be, kids?
It did not take long for them to make their choice.
Osamu: Kids-
A plume of white smoke suddenly filled the room, a diversion cast by Kasumi.
Cyanide: Smokescreen!
The smoke was so thick they could hardly see. Cyanide quickly grabbed Osamu and flipped a teleportation coin, taking them just outside of the house and into the cold, snow-filled street. Drops of Osamu's blood stained the snow as Cyanide gently put him down.
Cyanide: Kid, I'm going to pull this knife out of you and flip a healing coin. That should seal the wound and stop the bleeding. It's got to be quick though, those kids are going to find us out here soon.
Osamu: Alright! Cyanide, please, do your best not to hurt them! I'm begging you, alright?
Cyanide: As I said, Osamu, it's not my choice. It's entirely their own. Ready?
Osamu: Yeah, do it!
Cyanide: Alright. Like ripping a band-aid off!
Cyanide quickly pulled the knife out of Osamu, surely tearing things along the way and causing him even more unbearable pain. The healing coin was flipped, sealing the wound and stopping the bleeding as planned.
Cyanide: Lucky you, you didn't lose too much blood from that.
Osamu: God, that hurt!
Osamu wheezed and breathed heavily, as if he were in labor. Cyanide patted his shoulder, letting him know he was okay now.
Osamu: Cyanide, if you go against them, you might-
Cyanide: Face the same fate as Inari? Yeah, I figured.
Osamu: So then why did you help?!
Cyanide finished his cigarette, puffing out one last plume of smoke and discarding the butt.
Cyanide: Because I've seen something like this before. Even a guy like me has a heart.
Osamu: W-what do you mean? Has this happened before?!
Cyanide: Not under the exact circumstances, but something similar.
*BOOM*Another powerful explosion, this time blowing out most of the front of the house. The kids were ejected from the house by the sheer force of it, as wood, brick, and cement sprayed across the street and rained down from the sky like snowflakes made of fire. Tsukiakari stepped forth, with Izanami, Shinju, Amatsutsuki, and Yoko behind her. Her sword was drawn and covered with holy flames.
Cyanide: The Senkumo War Goddess in action...
All of the kids got up from that, like it hardly even mattered to them. They must've expected Gekko would interfere if they weren't quick enough. Tsukiakari spoke with such a furious, thunderous voice, one worthy of a war goddess. Not even Osamu had ever heard such rage bellow out within her.
Tsukiakari: You all better explain yourselves. Why were you trying to kill your father?!
*End*