"Why are we waiting for people who are already died?"
Tsukino asked contemptuously. Her antipathy glowing gray eyes scan the mortals waiting at the edge of the majestic X-You Mountain, grimacing at their insolence.
"We should be delegating on how to win the next battle instead of having false hope," Her voice cold, she continues in a louder tone, "We all saw the state Miyato was in... there is no hope for him. Worse, Shinji and Lucy. Let's forget about them; focus on the future! Also, we lost quite a number of people, why should we be more focused on those three?"
The sounds of crickets answered Tsukino.
The mortals understood Miyato's situation; some are felicitous about Lucien dying —his mother ate their loved ones. Shinji, however, is someone they need —to replace Miyato and to take the fall when they rebel, one day.
As the birds chirped, Mikino, a blind girl in her early-twenties, walks up to Tsukino after a few minutes of contemplating.
"Why don't we wait until midday to give up on them; although I'm neither fond of both of them, it would be sad to lose a charismatic person as Shinji-kun. Without him, who would make jokes for us?"
"Tsk." Tsukino clicked her tongue in frustration upon seeing some members agree.
She dislikes Lucien, but she hates Shinji to the bone. The image of him dancing while people died is still fresh in her mid. If Lucien is a demon of murder, then Shinji is a cunning, backstabbing devil who kills a person with a smile!!
'I hope he burns in hell, where devils like him should be!'
Tsukino grins in rage, vehemently gritting her teeth at the mortals resting under the canopy of various trees.
...little to her understanding, Shinji made her view him that way.
Rolling her eyes, she clicks her tongue, going to rest her back on a tree. Why don't people see that Shinji is using them?! It might look like he is a pushover, but if they felt what she feels from him, they would be wary around him more!
'But what if he is that man?'
—Their birthmarks are the same.
'It can't be, Shinji is too egregious!
Tsukino shook her head. Although she dislikes that man, he was right. If he didn't force her, then she wouldn't have survived this battle.
'I wonder what I'll do when I see him?'
—Ah! You're smiling, you must like him... maybe, you should kiss when you meet.
'Don't be ridiculous.'
—You have angered me; I promise you this: you'll be stabbed in the heart with the man you love!
'Why are the words Lucy's mother playing in my mind?'
Tsukino furrowed her brows.
She had met Akane in the past, and the encounter wasn't pleasant. Akane was fetching water at a well, singing in a language Tsukino couldn't understand. As she went on to look at the sky like she was talking to someone, Tsukino laughed at the crazy woman, and got cursed!
'Whatever, I don't need a man in my life, they will only hold me back.'
Tsukino didn't wait longer, as she noticed two figures descending X-You Mountain, supporting each other.
The one on the left, a scholar in a spotless robe, held something bleeding wrapped in a purple cloth.
Seeing everyone's gaze on him, Shinji lets go of Lucy, walking toward the group, unwrapping the cloth with tears on his cheeks.
"It was a tough decision to make when, when..."
The Main Character sobs, wiping his tears with the back of his hands.
"I didn't mean to do it, but Miyato-dono... said that he wasn't going to make it anyway thanks to the number of injuries on his body... Please understand, I didn't want to see my role model in agony."
A whimper escapes his mouth, his knees falling to the ground helplessly.
"I'm sorry! You're free to kill me to avenge Miyato-dono who entrusted me with the honor of finishing him! Blame it on me for being weak... and pathetic enough to finish him, while I didn't help him much in the fight."
"Waah!! Waah! Waahaha!"
Shinji covered his face with both hands in shame as he started crying.
...some of the idiots did too.
No one could blame Shinji, the burden lay on the whole group on depending on one person. They are all weak, and that was a painful fact. This wasn't a time to be blaming someone, rather pass the flame Miyato left to Shinji —if he is strong, they will relax more.
Hugging, and helping Shinji stand, the group prepared a resting place for Miyato's head...
Even though they are shameless, the mortals had to give Miyato a few moments of silence.
Not only was he a great leader who helped them secure a lot of victories against the Kushi Villagers, he was, also, a man of righteousness.
He would often engage in small chatter with those slacking off, asking if someone had been bullying them —that stopped because of Lucien.
***
Katsuragi Goro, now in charge of the meals, wore a pleasant smile as he carried a bento box to his room. He planned to treat Sora to a special meal and regale her with jokes, hoping to show her the cool uses of his Tama.
Goro's joy was palpable as he entered his large residential building located at the center of the Military Camp.
He left his sandals on the woven grass mat and ignored the explicit paintings that adorned the walls leading to the other rooms. As he walked toward the living room, a space in the clouds filtered sunlight through the windows, casting a cozy glow.
However, his expression faltered when he found the room empty.
"Where is she? I left her sleeping a few minutes ago."
Concern etching on his big face, Goro's amber eyes frantically skims the room, before settling on the pathway to his bedroom, which had one of its doors open.
'Could Dumbo have done something to her?!'
—That bastard!!
His worry intensifying, he approaches the bedroom with clenched fists, prepared to defend his love.
Carefully opening the sliding door, he yells, "Stay away from her, or else I—!"
His words trailed off as the warm light from the window momentarily blinded him. When his vision cleared, he was met with a sight that made him gulp.
Sora lay on the futon, clad only in a bathrobe that barely covered her essential areas. Goro's amber eyes widened as he took in the sight of her smooth, pale thighs and small feet.
His body tingled with a mix of surprise and excitement.
However, as a man of culture, Goro shakes his head, choosing to look away.
'I'll let her sleep. Who knows when she last slept in a comfortable place?'
As he turns to leave, he hears Sora's faint whisper, "Please...embrace me, Goro-Kun... I need to drown in your arms tonight."
Goro chuckles, thinking she was dreaming.
'This is what happens when you sleep during the day.'
—It's nighttime in her mind.
However, Sora's subsequent whispers made Goro's expression falter. He tried to ignore her, but her words struck a chord.
"If you don't do it... you are not a man, Goro-Kun."
A tear rolls down his cheek, his will shattering.
'Sora-Chan, why must you be so beautiful? Please forgive me for what I'm about to do.'
Removing his kimono, he turns around, but the girl was gone. Gora blinks a few times, trying to make sure he wasn't dreaming, not minding the coldness of the day.
"Where is she...?"
His voice dragged at the end as he felt someone embrace him from behind, making his whole body shiver in delight.
"I'm here..."
At that reply, Goro wanted to turn around and transcend the 9 heavens with Sora —she had booked a match!
That being said, some things aren't meant to be in life...
Little to his imagination, Sora's appearance had changed before he came. Now, she had grown fangs together with claws, and her eyes turned black with no shade of white.
"Be a good pig, Goro-kun."
She smiles, viciously striking her fangs into the man's nape by surprise. Meanwhile, Goro's body palpitates, his eyes diluting as blood got drained from him.
Thud!
He fell to the ground, his eyes rolled up. Contemporaneously, the kyuketsuki didn't hesitate to bite his neck, tearing his flesh —blood splattered on the wooden floor.
Chewing, the creature clicks its tongue in disdain. Swallowing its frustration, the kyuketsuki wide opens her mouth, dipping her fangs into Goro's skull.
Crack...
Crushing the bone, she takes in part of the brain in her swallow. Licking her lips, she repeats the process, going deeper into him...
***
In a few minutes, the kyuketsuki had already devoured half of the body.
It comments, "He tastes ugly...munch, munch... if only it were Derniere or Shinji. Those two have strong souls, something that will make me take this body faster."
At that mention of those names, Sora's features returned to normal.
She blinks once, twice, then...
"Ahh! Why did this happened!" She yelped.
Panicked, she throws away Goro's liver and heart in her hands. Feeling the sticky, wet fibers in her mouth, she forces herself to vomit... but, nothing happened.
"What's happening to Sora?! When did she become a monster?!"
A voice laughs mockingly in her mind:
'If I'm a monster, what about you, my fiancé? Whether you turn into male or female, your parents sold you to me. Whatever I do with that body is also on you.'
Hearing the mention of her parents, Sora takes a deep breath, calming down as a set of memories came to her mind.
He face ghost-pale, she tears silently. How could she forget that she was born a monster? Lucien and Shinji might accept her gender switching, but in other people's eyes she is an abomination. Being special sometimes means you're different —a monster to society.
She looks at the white birthmark on her left wrist, biting her lips.
'...you all will do great without me anyway.'
Forcing a smile, Sora stands up, readying herself to commit seppuku; however, the kyuketsuki took her body again.
"This idiot!"
Frowning, the creature clicks its tongue, walking out.
'Another idiot called profound beasts here. If it weren't for that person, I would be eating those Tama-Artists.'
"Tch, I can only settle with eating those old ladies that do the cooking."