Road to Kingdom (Private flashback)

Shimiko chuckled at Seigi's reaction to Oda leaving. She was glad to be rid of the man as well. When Seigi returned, drink in hand, he indicated that he was fine staying behind but if the situation changed he'd be more than willing to fight Hakkin with them. He was a loyal soldier and the prospect of fighting an aspect of a God didn't seem to phase him. She wondered what kind of wild adventures he had gotten up to in his home dimension. She turned to see that Ryuko had placed her batons on the table. She hadn't seen those instruments in a long time and she was embarrassed at how low quality they were. Granted, she was only a genin when she had made them, but they still weren't fitting armaments for a Queen.

"Of course, I'll have them upgraded in a week........Your Maaaaaaaaaaaaaajesty" she said with a cute smirk. She knew her friend wasn't fond of the over-formality but the Chinoike couldn't help but mock the grandness of it all. Shimiko took the batons to her room and returned with a suitcase containing her own armour along with Chakra Armour technology from the Land of Snow. She handed it over to Ryuko. "I didn't want to burden you with more work so soon after you woke up and now that you're Kage and all....please don't feel obligated to work on this but I figured my armour could use a tune-up. I have a note with some ideas inside."

Ryuko reflected on how long ago the Valley seemed to be. Shimiko nodded in silence. She didn't necessarily want to think about it but it was always there. The would've's, could've's, and should've's. I should have been there....I should have been able to help them... When Ryuko mentioned Natsuru, Shimiko couldn't help but shrug. The last time she had tried to involve Natsuru in a major mission things hadn't gone well. She didn't blame the archer for Lei's sudden fit of madness but it was obvious in the aftermath that the Senou had no use for such jobs. As far as Shimiko was concerned, Natsuru was retired in everything but name. The Half-Chinese businesswoman only had a desire to rake in cash and that was perfectly fine. She wouldn't trouble Natsuru with shinobi missions ever again and given how the girl's training was probably stunted, she'd only be a danger to herself and her friends. "Yeah I think its for the best that she sit this one out. She can keep the champagne on ice when we kick Hakkin's butt" Shimiko joked.

Once Ryuko assented to Seid's involvement, she scribbled his name down on a nearby pad. She'd be sure to ask him for his help. Darkseid was a good soldier. Loyal. Competent. He'd definitely come in handy. Nariko and Seigi were off the table though. They couldn't put all their eggs in one basket and leave Kumo undefended especially not at a time like this. Unfortunately, outside the four of them, there weren't many who were capable of fighting something like Hakkin. Any other potential ally of that calibre would be a foreign element, or in certain cases, an enemy. Ryuko suggested that they look outside the village and Shimiko opened her mouth to indicate her concern but receptiveness to the idea. The name that came out of Ryuko's mouth however caused Shimiko to shut her trap. She turned her body so that she was directly facing Ryuko and she stared the girl down. The expression on her face could best be described as loathsome. The hatred and fury communicated through eye contact alone. Shimiko's entire vibe had gone from cheery and helpful to utter disgust. It was as if Ryuko had joked about killing the twins and selling them their corpses to necrophiliacs. If anyone else had suggested what Ryuko had they'd be slapped.

Shimiko folded her arms and took a step towards the newly minted Queen. Some might interpret it to be an aggressive move. There was suddenly a dark tension in the room. Even Seigi would be able to feel it. It wasn't a question that was worth dignifying with a response so Shimiko let her body language do the talking.

"............"

"Of all the names..." Seigi would mutter under his breath, quickly downing the rest of his drink. Wiping his mouth, he would look to Ryuko and shake his head, before quickly seeing Shimiko's reaction. Her demeanor had completely shifted, causing a sudden shift in the room. He knew Shimiko wasn't dumb enough to throw everything away simply due to Nozomi's name being uttered, but even he was surprised at how she was acting. He didn't know it was enough to give killing intent, however, and that was concerning.

"Shimiko, she meant nothing by it." Seigi would say, his voice a little louder this time. "She is simply trying to find the most efficient means to an end." Seigi would set his glass on the counter before moving to Shimiko's side. He wouldn't touch her, he knew better than to do that right now, but she would undoubtedly feel his presence. If she moved into action, his speed would rival hers, but he hated to think about having to stop her from doing anything to Ryuko. He quickly dismissed the thought once more.

“Nooo…” Ryuko moaned visibly squirming in discomfort as Shimiko had her fund, deliberately using the uncomfortable word. Each extended syllable feeling like an extra dagger stabbing in her back. Vestal, Raikage, Queen no matter what her position might be at the end of the day she was still the same person she had always been and she wished for people that she saw as family to treat her as such.

“The prepwork for the coronation is going to take a while so I’m not officially kage yet. I’m not going to be doing too many missions anymore so I’ll have lots of time left over on my hands for something like working on your gear.” Commented the priestess lightly. Honestly despite being at the top of the food chain as far as rank went you’d be surprised just how little actual work she actually had to get done.

There was paperwork that required her signature and budgets to be balanced but overall much of it was handed though the wonderful power of delegation. The had an entire administration office full of people dedicated to the task so that she didn’t have to bother going over every trivial little detail herself. Her role was to set the overall direction of the country, not to decide if someone’s fence was a little too high over code..

She hated to admit it but Shimiko was right about their other sworn sister. At one point Natsuru had been their equal in battle but somewhere along the line the amount of time she spent training had slowly diminished. She was still a pretty good shot with her bow all things told but she simply couldn’t keep up.

Honestly by all rights Ryuko herself would have athropied more from her coma if not for the protection of Rafaela, though when she considered that Rafaela had also been the cause of her coma in the first place kind of made it all even out in the end.

The reaction she got from Shimiko as soon as her beloved’s name had left her lips was far more dramatic than Ryuko had ever expected. She knew that Shimiko had been down on the girl the last time they had spoken about her… or at least the last time she could remember speaking about her at least during a visit to her store.

The events of the last night before her coma. Her shocking confession as well as shameful request were a complete blank, repressed to the furthest corner of her mind. All she knew about the tournament is that Nozomi had won in the end but was that really something to get THIS worked up about?

Perhaps if she had remember that night she would have gotten more worked up. Instead she sat calmly like an unmoving stone as the river of Shimiko’s rage washed over her. If this had been anyone else she might have taken a defensive posture but it was someone she was close enough to view as a sister and so she was sure she wasn’t in any real danger.

Shimiko could be impulsive and rash at times but she wasn’t stupid. Ryuko might not be quite up to her level combat wise but she wasn’t far behind and could still come up on top if she played her cards right. If two ninja of their level clashed seriously right in the middle of town the results would be devastating.

“Shi-chan sNave the intimidation act for somebody who doesn’t know you better.” said the soon to be Raikage in a chiding tone as she gestured for Shimiko to sit back down. “As your brother said I meant nothing by it. As the soon to be leader of a nation I wouldn’t ask something like this because of mere feelings but because of facts though I’d be lying if I were to say there were absolutely zero personal benefits involved” she admitted wanting to be completely straight with them, hiding nothing.

“She’s an extremely powerful warrior. One who is more likely than not willing to lend me a hand based on our prior interactions with each other. And most importantly one that should the mission fail will not result in a significant loss of power for our nation” said Ryuko with an ice cold attitude.

The fact that she could speak so practically about the situation despite this being someone she was was supposed to be in love with could have spoken volumes about her maturity level but the truth was she had absolute confidence they would be able to come up on top if they had that much power backing them. A squad of four of the strongest ninja on the entire planet working together could overcome just about anything.


“Now I know that I tend to be quite intuitive and can catch onto things with only slight context clues to go on but I’m no psychic either. I can’t tell why you’re mad Shimiko if you don’t tell me anything. Just what is it about Nozomi that’s got you so riled up?” she asked her voice full of genuine concern.

That level of hostility wasn’t normal. She could pardon Nozomi all she wanted and remove her from this country's bingo book but that would do nothing to clear the admonesty her best friend had towards the woman. Hate that doesn't disappear was oftentimes by far the hardest to deal with.

[12]

The fact that Ryuko wasn't moved by her killing intent only made Shimiko madder but ultimately her friend was right. She had a nasty temper but she wouldn't harm her friend over something like this. Even Natsuru with whom she had an long-standing rivalry with wouldn't be subject to her wrath unless she did something truly stupid like shoot an arrow at the twins. It wasn't that she didn't think she could beat Ryuko, it was more that the two strongest shinobi in Kumo going at it would yield nothing but ruination for those she cared about and would be another notch in Honiko's belt. She'd have destroyed Kumo without even lifting a finger and all because the Raikage fell in love with her doe-eyed welp of a disciple.

Seigi sensed her ire and moved to her side. He was doing his best to calm her down but even with his presence next to her's, she felt nothing but rage at the present moment.  

"Meant nothing?" Shimiko whispered under her breath. The images of her defeat to Nozomi flashed through her head and she felt an itch to kill something.

Ryuko made her case for Nozomi as though she were arguing why pork ramen was better than shrimp ramen. She admitted that she still had feelings for Nozomi and that only made Shimiko visibly angrier. How could this woman lead them when she didn't even keep herself appraised of the world's number one criminal? She asked what about Nozomi got her riled up and the question made her want to punch Ryuko in the face with her woefully inadequate strength. The ANBU Commander blurted out loudly:

"What's got me so riled up?! Are you serious right now Ryuko?!" she shouted at the top of her lungs. ""How about the fact that two years ago your little girlfriend assaulted the Blood Prison and released every single criminal and evil entity they held. Hundreds of guards were killed and millions of dollars in research and development were stolen! How about the fact that she went on live TV and started spilling national secrets publicly? How about the fact that during that same broadcast she declared war on the Major Nations and said she's coming for us? Or did you forget about the time when she nearly killed Nats because her albino master ordered her to? Everything about her is bad Ryuko. She's an ungrateful, undisciplined, and unhinged terrorist. I gave her a chance to walk away from it all to be with you. That was my gift to you. Because you're friend, you're my family. You asked me to stand aside so that you can try and get through to her and I tried to honor that by giving her a chance to join us. She threw it back in my face and said I was trying to weasel my way out of our fight. She's using you Ryuko. Don't you get it? SHE DOESN'T LOVE YOU!" Shimiko practically screamed the last part.

Ryuko was trying to be civil and logical about the situation but Shimiko could see the real intent driving her actions. Just as Ryuko knew Shimiko, Shimiko knew Ryuko. There were a laundry list of private mercenaries, non-state actors, or straight up allies that Shimiko knew that could assist with their battle against Hakkin. She had chosen Nozomi specifically because she still loved the girl and no amount of nonchalant reasoning would change that.

"She beat me last time....I admit it. But I was weaker then, I didn't have an answer to her Bijuu. Now I do. When I see her again I'm going to kill her and if you're in my way I'll kill you too."

Shimiko had said the last part with as much coldness as she could muster. Nozomi was a threat to Kumo, the Church, her children, and everything she held dear. The Society would take it all from her and they'd use her best friend to help do it. She couldn't let that happen. She'd sooner put Ryuko down than let the Raikage compromise everything they had worked so hard to build. Nozomi had nearly succeeded in taking Natsuru and Sakata away from her. At the time she had loved the latter and though she had her moments with the former, she still cared about her. Now that Nozomi was even stronger there was no telling what she could do next.

If Shimiko thought that the priestess hadn’t tried to get her hands on every scrap of information she could on what Nozomi had been up to while she’d been in a coma then she had severely underestimated Ryuko’s desire to see her lost love again.

If she was nothing else it was a paragon of diligence.  She knew all about the raid on the blood prison as well as the declaration of war and more besides.  What she didn’t understand was why those things were pissing Shimiko so much when most of it had little of any relevance to the Land of lightning itself.

Shimko’s harsh words struck her like a hammer to her heart, causing her to stumble out of her chair and fall to her knees as the repressed memories of that night came back to her.  The shame she had endured in order to confess her feelings and ask her best friend to betray their warrior code to give her a chance to win Nozomi over to their side.  A chance she had failed by falling into a coma was washing over her all over again, threatening to crush her spirit.

Gritting her teeth Ryuko endured the pain and rose to her feet, determination burning in her eyes.  Just because she had failed before was no reason to give up now.   Things weren't so far gone yet that she didn’t have a chance of achieving her objective.  Clutching the pendent she had around her neck which contained the evidence she needed to prove that hope still existed. She felt a flood of newfound strength flow through it and into her giving her the conviction she needed to see this though.

Shimko’s hatred was perhaps one of the strongest obstacles between her and the happy ending she wanted.  This was not a battle of fists but an ideological one of words, one she had to win if she wished to proceed.  If she couldn’t even convince her best friend to pardon Nozomi, what chance would she have of talking Konoha or Kiri to do the same?

In order to win she needed to go push her limits, and go beyond them.  Sadly boosting your mind was far from easy.  You could take drugs to do so but those usually came with severe side effects or the risk of addiction.   She’d been researching medical jutsu to achieve her goal before her coma but none of her ideas had quite come together yet so instead she turned inward to her last option of resort. Closing her eyes her consciousness faded into blackness.

--

“Oh come to see me have you? We don’t talk face to face like this much. I have to say I love the way you had that bureaucrat dancing in the palm of your hand.” said a soft voice that rang like a bell as Ryuko found herself among a sea of flowers that stretched as far as she could see.  It was the kind of idyllic pasture that once entered one would find themselves reluctant to ever leave.

Turning to the source of the voice Ryuko gave the ethereal blond woman before her a quick glance.   The first Vestal as usual had beauty that was out of this world and yet despite her inclinations the priestess never was entranced with her the same way she had been with Nozomi at the ball, the same ball where she was denied her much desired dance by the whimsy of circumstance and fate as the call of duty tore the star crossed lovers apart from each other all too soon.

Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that she knew Rafaela and herself were simply two souls sharing the same body.  As lonely and starved for affection as Ryuko was she knew that the First Vestal would never be able to grant her true desire of having someone to hold her in her during the long sleepless nights she so often endured.

For all her wealth, For all her power she couldn’t have the one thing she wanted most in the world.   None of it could buy her love.  Sure she could afford a nice cortosan for herself it it came to that but that would just be empty emotionless sex.  True affection could only come from the heart.

“Rafaela when last we met you spoke about how once I became the Proven champion that the celestial might I could draw upon would increase.  Not just to my body but to my intellect as well.  I’m not quite ready to face Hakkin but I need that power NOW!” Ryuko declared making her demands plain.

Rafaela had a difficult look on her face and it wasn’t like Ryuko couldn’t guess why. She knew she was making an unreasonable demand and frankly she didn’t care.  All this business of having to prove herself smelled like bullshit to her.  Hakkin was a god of wisdom, he’d never have selected her for this if she wasn’t worthy of it in the first place.  

“Hmm well highly irregular it’s not like I can’t force open the pathways just a little at least once.  It wouldn’t grant you the full scope of Halo mode but beggars can’t be choosers.” said Rafaela as she gave a great shrug.  “But are you sure you wish to proceed?  This is not a feat that can be repeated no matter how much you beg or plead. Perhaps you should save it for an emergency.”  suggested the angel gently.  She didn’t want to see her power squandered lightly or for such selfish reasons.

“I’ve never been more sure. If your power can’t be used for something like stopping my best friend and the love of my life from killing each other then what good does tis serve?” asked Ryuko, feeling frustrated that she felt so powerless to stop a confrontation from happening between the two parties on her own.

“Ah, If you asked for some other reason I would have said no. But to think you would go as far as burning your own cosmos for the sake of love is simply exquisite.  Never forget that Love is justice, like is compass.” said the first vestal with a truly radiant smile on her face.

“Premission granted,  Now Ryuko show me your cosmic mind!”   added Rafaela as a golden stream of energy shot out of her and into the much younger priestess flooding her with overwhelming energy.    Closing her eyes Ryuko allowed herself to fall backward her form landing in the flower which enveloped her body returning her consciousness to the real world.

--

Opening her eyes once more Ryuko found that only an instant has passed in the real world while she’d have her conversation with Rafaela.  The only change that was preceptable on the outside was that her hair had turned a gleaming shade of blonde as an indication of the power she was now wielding which had expanded her mind to new horizons, allowing her to put dots together that she hadn’t been able to connect before and flowing far faster than ever to boot.

“You speak as if the Blood prison was a worthwhile place to have around when in fact tis very existence was a travesty.    How many people did they have locked up who deserved no such treatment?  How many people did they experiment on such as your Brother? “ She asked a very pointed question.  “If anything you owe her a debt for freeing him, so who’s being ungrateful now?.” she pointed out to drive the point home that it wasn’t something that should be held against the woman.

“While the loss of life was unfortunate, it is my understanding that she offered the guards a chance to surrender.  If you were on a similar mission, say to free the twins from being held would you show the same restraint?”   Somehow Ryuko doubted it.  If someone captured Yui and Yua she was sure that Shimiko would be painting the walls of their prison with blood.


“I remember what happened in the valley well. I could never forget it.  We had been trapped in an emberdome,  Nozomi ordered by Honiko to fight us and yet instead she merely spoke.  I had nearly succeeded in defusing the situation and getting her to come with us instead when Sakata and Natsuru struck first. Are we to railroad Nozomi as being the villain for acting in self defence?” Ryuko said with a sharp glare of anger in her eyes from how her friends had that day.  She had never quite fully forgiven them for setting Nozomi down on her dark path.

“She only became a missing-ninja in the first place because Kiri was such a sick and twisted place.  The kind of village that thinks nothing of sending Men to rape, pillage and muder countless innocents in the process of conquering nations.  The kind that thinks nothing of stabbing their own ostensible allies in the back. The kind that saw her as nothing but a tool to be used…”


“If I were born in such a place I know I could not bare to stay. Tis no wonder the Society bears a grudge against the major nations when they act like that.  If the army you work for is so immoral then how is abandoning it a crime?   Nay tis our very duty to disobey such unlawful orders and work to set things right as she has, even if her way of doing so is misguided .”    she said.  If she ever snapped the amount of damage she could do with a word was incalculable .  The only thing that let her sleep at night was knowing that her forces would not stand for such cold hearted tyranny.  


“Even in so called war she declared she did us little harm. So what if she revealed our location? After hosting the Chunnin exams and the Shinobi world tournament it was an open secret anyhow.    What damage has she caused to us other than the budget saved from no longer having to waste thousands of ryo every month to maintain obsolete security?”

“Even with Kiri the land that she has the most reason to hate she merely sought to collect her belongings and was attacked for it despite displaying no hostile intentions.  She could have chosen to murder those that struck her that day but instead  picked discretion.   When she was here for the tournament she stuck to our laws and agreement with Nariko causing no issues in the village.  What part of that behaviour sounds unhinged and undisciplined to you?”

It was one rational argument after another.  Hammered forth at rapid speed so as to give Shimiko no room to recover and the Priestess was not done yet as she fully intended to tear every point her friend had brought up to shreds thoroughly.

“Who would be so foolish to cast aside everything to be with someone who in all likelihood would never wake up again at all?   Her ability to acquire greater strength to enact justice against the land that wronged her for the slimist of chances for a love that might never be.  You were asking her to bet everything including her life on a Miracle. They are called as such because they are so rare” said Ryuko, stating the obvious with a scoff at the idea that the offer Shimiko had made was somehow a reasonable proposition.

“Nozomi is warrior-born much like herself.  She would never back down from an honorable match so easily over such a heavy handed ultimatum.  The way you approached her was deeply flawed from the beginning.  If it were anyone else I would suspect that was done intentional to sabotage any chances of winning her over.   You simply however didn’t know her any better.  For you she was merely another threat to be handled.  You never had the time or opportunity to see that there was another side to her.  The fact that you made an effort at all, even if only for my sake is commendable. ”  said Ryuko making it clear she wasn’t criticizing Shimiko for what she’d done at the tournament.


“Oh do tell how a woman I’ve only ever met trice is using me.  Given that once was during a battle and the other was while I was in a coma I’ve only truly spoken to her once at   Ealtz castle we’ve hardly had the opportunity to come up with some elaborate secret plan.  I’d love to say she’s been working undercover in the society for me but we both know that would be horseshit.”   the priestess said self deprecatingly.

“We’ve never exchanged any  favors, or information that could potentially be used against the village once.  Go ahead and use Psycho Mind transmission to read my memories to see for yourself.”


Ryuko said as she knelt down before Shimiko to make it easier for the other girl to put a hand on her head and scan her mind. Normally it took time to unveil memories but if the target was cooperating then sharing specific ones was a snap.

“As for her not loving me I have evidence to the contrary.”  said Ryuko as she took the amulet of kings from her neck with one hand.  The necklace glittering with jewels was a precious memento and keepsake that her friend and teammate Natsuru had made for her years and years ago but now it was so much more as the blue diamond concealed a small hidden storage compartment behind it.

With a soft click Ryuko opened the compartment to reveal that inside rested a single sakura petal, of the exact same kind Nozomi often used in her jutsu.  A sakura petal she had found clutched in her hand when she had woken from her coma.  Nozomi might not have been by her side physically but she had in spirit.


“You may think tis mere infatuation or perhaps you think I’m afflicted with Nightingale syndrome but I assure you neither is the case.   As Nozomi lay their, dying from an arrow to the chest and I frantically sought to save her in vain our chakra flowed together connecting us on a spiritual level allowing us to speak directly from soul to soul.  That’s about as intimate as tis gets.” said Ryuko.   Her feelings were no product of hallucination or a genjutsu being cast on her but the genuine article.

“I have a plan for us to overcome the society and win Nozomi to our side but to do so we must run this country on the up and up.  Not ever conflict must be terminated with a sword” she stated as a matter of fact. The war so far with the society had been one of optics and propaganda with little in the way of actual outfight fighting with the major nations.   The best way to overcome that was by maintaining the moral high ground.

“That means no more letting criminals escape their own trail so they can take over a minor nation and then run away leaving it in your hands.”  said Ryuko firmly letting Shimiko know she was onto her antics.  She had seen no formally written documents to the effect but with her brain expanded to it’s limit she’d have been a fool to not put the pieces together.   The way Hotsprings had fallen into their hands was all too convenient.   She knew Shimiko would never let someone escape her wrath otherwise.

“How could you even stand to work with a butcher like him?  I can’t fathom how you’d let someone who’s raped and murdered entire countries' worth of innocents live and yet you're so determined to kill Nozomi who is a patron saint in comparison.   What on earth do you even have on him that makes you think you can keep such a man on a leash?” asked  Ryuko, feeling disgusted at the type of backroom dealings that had been made in her absence.

“You realize that if this country becomes a Kingdom that you who are in charge large swaths of territory both within and without would be the equivalent of a Grand Duchess.   I expect better standards from you.”   she warned letting it be known that such hijinks would no longer be tolerated.

“Remember this well Shi-chan.  People make mistakes,  If possible they should be given the chance to make amends. I implore you for the sake of the Kingdom of Thunder, to carefully consider what should be done.  To ask yourselves what are the benefits of executing Nozomi  for her crimes… and not doing so.” said the priestess with a dramatic wave of her hand.

“If you kill her you will accomplish nothing but perpetuating the cycle of violence as she will serve as a martyr for the rest of the society to rally around. Hatred and resentment only breeds more Hated. If  nothing else I would never be able to forgive you for striking her down so cold heartedly.”  said the Priestess solemnly.

“Whereas If you spare Nozomi  she can contribute to resolving our conflict with the Society once and for allm resorting to peace to the land . Then  when it comes time for her trial she’ll be able to present herself in a more favorable light.”  said Ryuko, speaking not just of forgiving Nozomi but the aftermath of doing so.

As the leader of the society, putting Nozomi to death would cause no small amount of tension however they couldn’t let her entirely off the hook without sending the public a mixed message which could deal a blow to the legitimacy of the new regime if Ryuko where to hook up with the other girl like she wanted.  

On the flipside if they dealt too harsh a penalty without just cause that would also reflect on them badly.  They would still need to deal out a penalty of some sort and the priestess had the perfect one, fit for royalty in mind. One that she fully intended to deliver personally.

The key words were, of course without just cause. That was the driving force behind Ryuko’s actions. She was trying to give them the grounds to make acquittal more palatable for Shimiko, if not obligatory. To do so, she had stitched together a complicated web of logical arguments and legal principles, but at the core of it all was a kindhearted conviction.

At a glance, this facet of her character ill befit her status as the future ruler. It was, ostensibly, a sentiment more than a little naive. Nevertheless her compassion was founded on a bedrock of sound pragmatism.  She wasn't asking Shimiko to forgive Nozomi because she loved her but because it would be for the greater good of the country in the long run.

[13]

+1 to Intellegence from partial Halo mode
485/500 soul point remaining

Shimiko watched as Ryuko literally toppled over as a result of her words. She had intended to affect Ryuko but not to that extent. When the Raikage got up she closed her eyes for a moment. When she opened them, her hair turned a shade of gold and Shimiko instinctively activated her Ketsurygan. Even with her inflammatory words she didn't expect a fight. Nevertheless, she had to be ready for one. Based on what she saw before, Ryuko's sudden change of hair color meant that she was tapping into her benefactor's power.

Now what?!

When Ryuko didn't move to strike but instead began speaking Shimiko was rather confused. It could be that Raefala merely reacted to her charge's emotional state much like a Bijuu did to their jinchurikki. However, as her friend began making arguments in favor of leniency, she began to understand that something was at play here. The way she seamlessly connected Shimiko to the Land of Hot Springs Incident wasn't in of itself impressive but that and the general rigor of her points seemed to indicate that she had been bestowed with some kind of meta-awareness. Unfortunately, whereas Ryuko had gained spatial intelligence as a result of her status as a host, Shimiko had actually lost some. Her Ketsurygan made up for it when it came to Genjutsu but overall she wasn't as intellectually gifted as she had once been. Exposing one's mind to cosmic horror and carnage tended to do that to a person. She was incensed that she couldn't meet Ryuko at her level the way she'd once been able to but she didn't lash out. She gritted her teeth and listened, extending the same courtesy that Ryuko had shown her.

When Ryuko opened up by mentioning that the Blood Prison was guilty of locking up her brother, she wanted to punch her friend in the face. Not just because she was dragging Seigi into all this but because she was right. The institution had been running afoul of basic shinobi ethics by experimenting on anything they could get their hands on. No matter how innocent or child-like the entity might be. As Ryuko continued, Shimiko realized she didn't have much hope of beating Ryuko in an argument. Not in her present state at least. When Ryuko showed her the lone sakura petal kept in her pendant, Shimiko looked away in disgust. She recognized the flower as being a signature style of Nozomi's. It reminded her of her own foolishness. That stupid scarf that Sakata had given her. How she had cherished and adored it. She had kept it for years and had disposed of it only after it was clear that he didn't want to be with her any longer. Seeing Nozomi's gift brought those feelings of pain back and no amount of reasoning would ever change that.

Shimiko didn't look back at her friend until she was given an ultimatum. If she murdered Nozomi in cold blood then Ryuko would never forgive her. She looked Ryuko in the eye and a long silence passed. She considered her friend's speech carefully before replying in a much more measured tone. Despite the well of emotion bubbling inside of her, Shimiko was strangely calm.

"....I'm not like you Ryuko" she began quietly. "I'm not a politician. You want to make me into a Duchess but I never asked for that. I kill. That's what I do. Once I set my sights on a target, I don't stop until either their dead or I am....I'll use whatever I can to to accomplish that goal. Even if it means working with a monster like Ken. He was originally going to help us infiltrate the Society. To help us kill Nozomi. Nariko signed off on it. If you don't believe me ask her but once it became clear that he wasn't the infiltration type I put him to work for the betterment of the country. Every Great Nation needs its colonies and we're no different. And how do I know he'll comply you ask? The answer is exactly one floor beneath this one. Kaida Tetsudashi. Ken's daughter. He knew that people would be after her because of his crimes and he placed her in my care so that she could have a shot at a better life. She was born in Rice Country and they couldn't protect her but I can....and I can just as easily kill her the second he doesn't do what we want. His type always has a weakness and its almost always their kids. I could see it in his eyes, he sees her as an extension of himself and he'd do anything to keep her safe. If he screws us over I send him Kaida's head. Its that simple. And why? Because I believe in this country. Kumogakure is the only thing right and true in the world and all of our adversaries whether Kiri or the Society can see that. That's why Honiko attacked us first. They know we have God on our side and they fear us for it."

Shimiko turned to face her friend fully. The woman's voice shook with emotion but she kept control of herself. Now was not the type or the place to lose it. Seigi was here, the Twins would be back home soon, and they had just kicked Oda out. She couldn't afford to throw it all away here and now but it was clear from her body language that she was wired. What Shimiko couldn't solve with reason, she often resolved with her blades.

"Ryuko there is nothing I won't do to bring Nozomi to justice. She's a threat and I'll deal with her. I can't have you standing in my way. She has to pay for what she's done....to my friends, to Kumo, to me. Jashin wills it and what he binds in the Void will be bound on Earth*"

Ryuko had miscalculated. She mistook Shimiko for someone who could be persuaded by reason. As intelligent as the Chinoike was she had always been prone to acting out of anger, hatred, and religious fanaticism. She had murdered her own parents because she believed they had delayed her career. She had gone to Kiri with the intention of making peace and had nearly started a hot war. No amount of talking was going to change Shimiko's perspective on how to handle Nozomi.

Shimiko paused and considered showing Ryuko something. She ultimately decided not to. Now wasn't the time. The world was becoming a dangerous place and she had just taken on the burden of leading the country. The last thing she needed right now was another headache. Instead, Shimiko just said:

"I think you should go. I-I don't want to say something I'll regret it so....just...leave"

If Ryuko was smart (which she indisputably was) she'd notice that Shimiko was breathing heavily through her nose. Blood began to leak out the corner of her eyes and the faint sound of bats chirping could be heard in the distance.

*Horrors 76 (Verses 21-22)

Drawing upon the spark of divinity within her had been a calculated risk.   Using any jutsu in such a heated situation without first asking permission could have been the spark that sets the entire power keg of tension that ran thick throughout the room ablaze.    The only reason Ryuko had done it was because she trusted Shimiko to trust her.

Seeing the look of defensiveness in Shimiko’s eyes and that her sister had activated her dojutsu stunned the priestess for a brief second filling her with a profound sense of sadness.   She was a Vestal, someone trained heavily to be able to detach herself from her emotions and always think with a clear head.  

She wasn’t perfect at doing that, She wouldn’t be human otherwise (A subject that was debatable for her as the extra spirit inside her placed her closer to the realm of the gods then of humanity.)    But the very thought she would ever seriously raise her fist in anger to such a close friend was enough to make her feel sick.    Even if that wasn’t the case the second she did so she would have already lost the debate and her ideology would crumble.

She had always ever been the voice of reason and a master at defusing conflicts but today she was finding herself put to the test.   She hadn’t expected convincing Shimiko to be easy or she wouldn’t have literally burned some of her own soul in order to be able to make the best argument possible and it seemed that even that might not be enough as her sister chose to stubbornly cling to her animosity like a drowning man clinging to a float.

At the end of the day she was just being a really really sore loser.   What did Nozomi even have to pay for in relation to the nation?   The damage at the valley could be squarely placed on Honiko’s shoulders and for all the talk about nearly killing Natsuru the statuesque woman had walked away from the encounter with barely more than a few scratches and bruises.  Hardly the type of thing that warranted a death sentence.  

When it came to your normal life experiences Shimiko was no stranger to loss in more than one sense of the word.  She had experienced the feeling when a close relative passes away more than once.   Ryuko had seen firsthand how devastated she had been when they had thought they had lost Seigi to the plague.   She was also no stranger to romantic loss as well having Sakata walk out of her life.

But when it came to combat she was virtually peerless.  She was the champion of her church and she’d never failed to bring down a target before until she had run into Nozomi at the Shinobi world tournament.    Having come face to face with someone she couldn’t beat must have been an extra shocking experience for her.     Part of her must have been unable to accept that somewhere there existed someone better than her.   She was acting like an Alpha predator that couldn’t book the existence of a potential rival.

A small part of the priestess, the part that was still childish, selfish and petty wanted to slap her friend in frustration but the bigger part of her knew such an action would be futile.  That would only serve to wound her friend pride further accomplishing nothing.  

Ryuko listened to every word Shimiko had to say, carefully weighing and evaluating them in her head as they led her to a new understanding.  With her brain turbo charged it was like a fog she hadn’t been aware of had lifted, allowing her to grasp at straws that would have otherwise slipped through her fingers.

Was this what it was always like for people like Akihiro or Damian? The one percenter intellectual titans of the world?  She was using an unstable power that only came at a steep cost but thankfully once it was activated it wouldn’t damage the soul barrier any further so she had no reason to turn it off.     The priestess was bound and determined to ride this wave for as long and as far as it could take her.

It was almost as if the fates themselves were telling her to choose between the two most important people in the world to her.  As if they were saying she could only have one by sacrificing the other.    But hers was now hands that could twist the very bonds of destiny,  overturning them to open a new path.    All she had to do was push herself to her very limit and beyond, plus ultra.

For her to succeed and achieve the happy ending she desired she need to save not just Nozomi from the gallows but Shimiko as well before her own anger consumed her leaving nothing but an empty husk of a murder machine behind.    Just like how she done at the dinner party many moons ago she would not allow this to become an argument that would never clear.

“No, I don’t think I shall.”  said Ryuko gently from the spot where she was still kneeling on the floor feeling that it was now her turn to be stubborn.   Given her friend's agitated state she had to do something drastic to release the tension before things escalated  into a truly dire situation.

Moving her hands slowly so that Shimiko would easily be able to see what she was doing Ryuko began to unclip her weapons holster letting it drop to the floor with a loud clatter.   She was signalling her unhostile intentions with actions not words,  disarming herself to the point that she was now virtually at Shimiko’s mercy.   She still had some of her armor on but if the twin tailed girl attacked her now she really would be in deep trouble.

But such was the level of deep unfettered trust that Ryuko held in her friend as she stood up once more and moved towards Shimiko with her arms held out wide in an attempt to embrace the other girl and pull her close into a hug.


“I think you're mistaken by at least one think Shi-chan.  That was no ultimatum.  I said I would never forgive you, but I don’t think tis possible that I could ever stop loving you.” and with those words she reached up a hand, using it to gently cup Shimiko’s face wiping the tears of blood away before leaning in and trying to kiss the other girl full on the lips.

If that act wasn’t enough to shock Shimiko out of her anger and blow it out of her mind then Ryuko feared nothing would do the trick.   There was nothing sexual or romantic about the kiss, nor had she calculated what effect it would cause.  The priestess had just done it on a whim because it had felt like the right thing to do at the time.

The Greeks believed in many forms of love and Ryuko was overflowing with several of those towards Shimiko.   Philia a form of platonic love between friends, Storge the love between family and most importantly of all  Agape,  selfless unconditional boundless compassion.

Love was something that everyone must have.  They must have it because their spirit feeds off it.  Without love self esteem weakens. Without it courage fails. Without love we can no longer look confidently out on the world. Instead we turn inwardly and begin to feed upon our own personalities and little by little destroy ourselves.

Shimko was someone with precious little love in her life.  Her marriage was purely political and she had killed her own parents leaving a gaping hole in her heart that the presence of the twins and her brother were not enough to heal leaving her cold and ruthless to anyone outside her small family unit.

In Ryuko's heart she held one simple wish that she prayed to any god that could hear to grant.  That the warmth and depth of her feeling would reach the girl she was holding in her arms and wash away all the negative emotions that had been festering for the last several years.   That she might finally be whole again once more.

Then she unleashed her ultimate weapon as she began to sign in a crystal clear voice the words to a song that Shimiko knew well.  The same song she had sung to stop Shimiko and Natsuru from fighting when they had been at the brink of dissolving their friendship/rivalry permanently.  

The history it had with them gave the tune an immense amount of emotional weight that packed far more of strength then any speech she could have attempted to give could ever hope to reach.  Ryuko might not have her instrument at the moment but she hardly needed it when her voice sounded like it had descended from the very chorus of heaven itself.


Once she was done she let go of Shimiko, taking one step back and following up by giving one last speech anyhow because she felt the burning need to clear up another misunderstanding on Shimiko’s part and to make clear the direction she wanted to take this country in.

“I do not seek a politician from you Shi-chan but rather a role model.   The fact that you are a killer is indisputable but is that really all that you think you are?  I think the Twins and your brother would be rather quick to disagree.” said Ryuko with a radiant smile.

“Before I met you I used to think that Jashiniest where nothing but filthy indiscriminate murder hobos.   I thought how could a God of Pain, death and destruction be anything but evil?  But that was nothing by my own prejudicious that had been indoctrinated into me from a young age.   You were the one who taught me otherwise,  about how the faith of Jashinism is devoted to the enlightening of the public to the suffering they are inducing.” explained Ryuko.  It was something she'd never wanted to admit but Shimiko had forced her hand.

Not to say that there weren’t bad apples among the faithful.  Those who took the teachings too far and too extreme for the public to tolerate. The fanatics that had triggered a civil war that had nearly torn the country in half.  The Twins had told Ryuko they had a plan to deal with those and it was now the Priestess job to reconcile with the rest.  If she did her work properly it could potentially usher in a new golden age.  Shimiko’s presence was the key to making that possible, she was quite literally indispensable.

“You are a saviour and a mother.  A philosopher,  diplomat and poet!  Tis no need to pigeonhole yourself just to the role of enforcer and executioner any more than we need to pigeonhole Nozomi to the role of enemy or threat.   Not when you both could be so much more.”  said Ryuko wisely.

“That line of thinking that every great nation needs colony’s is exactly why the society even exists in the first place.   Conquering by force,  trying to keep a dangerous monster on a leash with a sword of damocles makes us no better than the other Major nations.   One merely has to look at where that got them to know that is not the way.”


She was referring to how Konoha had grown by four nations in a single night only to lose it all just as quickly.   To how Kiri for all it’s atrocities had been unable to hold onto its new territory for long.  Neither was a great model for long term stability.  Their actions only serving to breed more chaos,  suffering and resentment.


‘We must do better,  We must be better in order to flourish. Only by being our best selves can we build a legacy that will last the test of time.  To do otherwise would be but sheer folly as one day your children will look you in the eyes and see nothing but a monster.”   declared the soon to be queen.  

“Tis wrong to keep an innocent child in captivity.  A cage is still a cage no matter how gilded.   Tis even more disturbing to think of taking their life just to prove a point.  Have some empathy and  think of how you would feel if someone pulled that on you with the Twins.   Tis not a very pleasant thought to consider, no?” asked Ryuko rhetorically.  

Ken was a monster but even someone evil like him had a flicker of good in him as he actually cared about his daughter.    Even he didn’t deserve to have his love used against him.  Even trying was sure to bite them in the ass in the long run as he would stop at nothing to see that his daughter was safe and once that was accomplished, rain hell on her captors for daring to threaten her.

“Do you truly believe the Society fears us?” asked Ryuko with a light chuckle. "Why would they when all they have to do is stand aside and we tear ourselves apart?” she asked. Even now they were still cleaning ashes from the recent civil war off the street.   Unrest was still heavy in the air and It was going to take a lot of work to make her coronation go smoothly and not re-spark the conflict once more.


“The two of us and our churches must stand together or divide we shall fall.  Only United can we overcome to perial that lays before us.  Nozomi might be the leader of the Society on the surface but in truth she is little more than a figurehead taking orders from Honiko.  I strongly suspect that someone even more dangerous is behind the white witch,  pulling the strings and manipulating them to their own ends…. “ said Ryuko as she placed her hands behind her back and began to pace on the spot.

She thought back to the inscription on the Tomahawk that Honiko had left them.  ‘The end draws near. If you seek salvation for your loved ones, slay them and bring their remains to the three wolves mountain in three years. Then and only then shall they have life anew’   and somehow she knew that meant life anew in a literal sense and not just a spiritual one.

If Rafaela could eventually grant her the power to bring back the dead then who was to say she was the only one who had such a thing.  If the Society had such an ability the question was what would they use it for and who would they seek to bring back?  Given what she knew of Honiko's goals from what the woman had said she wished to overturn everything and return it to the natural order.

It was almost as if she wanted to turn back the clock and redo everything if not literally then at least figuratively.  If Ryuko wanted to do that, what better way than by bringing back the Sage of the Six paths or his disciples.   To most people they were supposedly just a legend, the eastern  equivalent to King Arthur and the round table but Ryuko knew better.

The Church of Hakkin was an ancient organization dating back over a millennium.  They had records in the depths of their vaults that only the highest members could access that she had seen that spoke of the sage verifying his existence though it wasn’t as if they had any details on the location of any of their actual graves.

The sage himself likely wouldn’t go along with their wishes as enlightened as he was supposed to be but the Disciples were another story.  If even one of them decided they didn’t like the way the world had turned out in their absence it would be no laughing matter.   If even half the stories were true they would be Z rank to Ryuko and Shimiko’s X which would make for a very uphill battle to overcome.

“That’s why I need Nozomi alive. Not out of some sense of sentiment or  because of my personal feelings but because she’s the number one best source of information we have and the key to discovering the true culprits.  If we can turn her to our side we couldn’t ask for a better woman on the inside.”   said Ryuko.

Shimiko had admitted to herself they had tried to infiltrate the Society with Ken and failed.  Ryuko’s relationship with Nozomi might just be the ticket they needed to get to the bottom of things if they only played their cards right.

“Besides if I’m right and they do have an overboss more powerful then Honiko or Menza we’ll need every X-class ninja we can get on our side.  If it helps think of her as a bolt of lightning.  It might seem dangerous at first glance but it can also be harnessed to generate electricity.  You simply need the proper kite.”   said the priestess referring to a particularly famous experiment.

With a sigh Ryuko wondered why everything had to be so gosh darned complicated.  Things would be so much similar if Nozomi was the true head of the society.  She was reasonable enough that they could just talk things out rather than worrying about facing some super being hiding in the shadow or the return of long lost demigods.  

[14]

“No, I don’t think I shall.”
You stubborn bitch!

Minutes ago, Shimiko couldn't comprehend thinking of her dearest friend in such vile terms. But anger was a powerful thing and Shimiko had always been susceptible to thinking and acting out of sheer rage. Ryuko was refusing to leave and it was pissing Shimiko off. Every word of truth that Ryuko spoke was like a dagger to her heart. A dagger that she could not counter with her own blades. It was enough to make the Chinoike want to split her comrade in two. When she started moving her hands, Shimiko grew deathly still. Her own fingers twitched in anticipation and she could feel the sparks dancing around her fingertips. Come on...do it... She didn't have her Sai handy but she didn't need them to take down Ryuko. She was itching for a fight. Instead, Ryuko did what no sane person would do in the presence of a Jashinist. She disarmed herself. Shimiko watched dumbfounded as the weapon's holster fell to the ground. If they were going to fight then Shimiko would have to strike the first blow.

The tears of blood became streams as she felt her friend embrace her. It was too much. She hadn't realized it before but now it was obvious that she was "crying crimson" as her Clan put it. Shimiko's hands dropped to her side and she let Ryuko hug her. The moment made her feel vulnerable, weak, and uncertain. All the of things that her mother had tried to hammer into her. She wanted no part of it. She wanted to be feared, to fight, to kill.

"S-Stop it" Even as Ryuko wiped away her tears, she wanted to warn her. "Ryuko you can't....I'll ki-" before she could protest or react, Ryuko made her move. At first she thought Ryuko was moving to whisper something in her ear but when their lips made contact, Shimiko froze. She had been ready to strike her friend in hopes of escalating the tension to something she could deal with but instead Ryuko responded with words and actions of unconditional love. She said that no matter what she'd never stop loving Shimiko. The blonde's heartbeat quickened unsure of how to deal with this situation. She was stunned. She sensed no passion or sexual desire in the kiss, no, it was purely an act of friendship. True friendship. She had intended to threaten her friend. To frighten her. And in response, she had received a kiss. Shimiko touched her fingers to her lips and some small part of her wished that her friend yearned for her the way she did Nozomi or even Natsuru. Maybe then they could avoid this inevitable collision course that their religions had put them on. Faith was a curious thing but even that could bend to the power of love if it was strong enough. But Shimiko didn't feel that way about Ryuko and Ryuko didn't feel that way about Shimiko. If they did not have romance in their heart could sisterly love be enough to save them?

Shimiko's gaze fell to the floor as she tried to comprehend what was happening. She reached down into that dark place in her soul. The place where she had stored all her most brutal and violent fantasies. She wanted to hold onto her anger. Her anger at Nozomi, Hakkin, her mother, Ken, anyone and everyone that threatened her core identity. But before she could grasp that darkness, a beautiful voice filled her living room. She recognized the song immediately. It was the ballad that Ryuko had played when she and Natsuru were on the verge of tearing each other to pieces. Shimiko often stayed up late at night wondering what would have happened if Ryuko had not burst into song at that exact moment. How different would she be? Would the experience have snuffed out what little empathy she had left? Would she have had the emotional capacity to rescue the Twins and adopt them? It was all so troubling. It hurt her to think a mere song could have had such a profound impact on her life. At times it even angered her, but then she remembered how she had felt after hearing it. How calm, how peaceful, and how willing she was to give friendship a chance even when it seemed so futile and weak. Shimiko tried not to smile as she listened to the a capella.

She always knows how to try and get me on her side...

The Vestal was so charming when she wanted to be. Shimiko had little hope that Nozomi could be turned to the side of good but if there was anyone that could do it then it was Ryuko. Shimiko remained quiet and listened to the song. Her heartbeat slowed and for a moment she felt peace. A fleeting moment. Just when her psyche softened, she felt something tugging at her spirit. It wasn't her own anger or bloodthirst. Shimiko could recognize those instantly. This was something different, something new, something foreign. It told her to kill. To draw steel and don't stop fighting until the entire penthouse was painted red. Shimiko's, Ryuko's, Seigi's it didn't matter. Shimiko was shaking now. She tried to suppress it but couldn't for it was invading every corner of her psyche. While she was listening to Ryuko's words, it was clear that they weren't having the intended effect. The words were comprehended but they overlaid with the voice of another.

That of the Necrossiah's.  

“You are a saviour and a mother.  A philosopher,  diplomat and poet!  Tis no need to pigeonhole yourself just to the role of enforcer and executioner any more than we need to pigeonhole Nozomi to the role of enemy or threat.   Not when you both could be so much more.”
S̵̘̦̤̥̟̠̣͚̓̅̀̓͆͊̈́͒́̽̾̒̚͝h̷̨̙̤̞̓̑͒͂́͗́̓̀̔̒̊͠ȇ̴͖̣͇̬̮ ̷̨̢̛̫̬̬̗͉̗͒̇̀̌̿̈́͌͒͊̃͘ļ̸̜̮̰͓͓̥͍̳̺̘̙͙͖̌̓̑̊̆͊́͛͐̃i̸̛̳̐͑̅̔̈̒̂̔͌̍ē̴̢̮͕̼͚̠͔̥̱̠͍̐̓̇͒́̅̑̀̏̏̐͊͑͜͠s̶̡̜̰̪̤̆͌̋̎̒͛̇́͐̕͘͘̕.̸̢̢̭͙͘͜ ̵͕͈͈͍̦̦̫̼͓͖̩̩̈́͆̌̒̿͜͝ͅͅȲ̷͕̟̤̞̙͍͉̝͉̪̝͌̇̓͌͊̉̀̇̿͗̚͜͝͝͝o̶̡͒̅̍u̷͎͆̈́̎̊̀͌̽͘ ̶̨̛̛̮͎̲̲̪͓̤͔͇͔̓̒̓̔̓̀̂̋̂͘k̴͇̖͈̑̏͋͋̒̕ṋ̷̢͚̞̺̪̺̲͓͕̀̋͜͠ơ̷̡̨̨̺̻̖͖̖̦̗̓̈̒̑͒͂͂̈̈́͊̕͜͝ẅ̵͙̺͙͓̠͖͍͙̺͍́͋̈́̇̎͌̈͘͘͜ ̷̢͓̬̖͙͔̙̻̰̀͊͋͆͗͜ͅţ̶̧̨̢͍̲̘̤̜̭̆͂̆̆̓̂͛̚͜͝ͅh̴̻͇̜̮̎́i̸̢̤̩̬̳̫̹̗̹͂̂̒̏͐͝͝s̸̨̛̙͖̮͓̐̆͝.̵̟̱͕̮͌̈́̀͋́̇̆̐̾͘ ̷̨̣̲͓͙̖̠́͛̿̃̋̈́́̕͠T̶̛͖̱̰͓̝͉͉̫̞̼͎̊h̷̤̅̄̂̿̒̓̈́̽̔̂̄e̷̜̠̭̜̘͈̙̯͍̮͚͗̽̑̀́͜͝r̴̛̗̰̣̦̼̒͋̽͒ͅe̶̡̛̫̖̞͖͍͚͓̻̓͊̀͆̑͗̀͋̚ ̵̼̼̼̮̪͎͇̽i̵̦̤̫̯͕̿ś̶̛̙͉͎͊̽̚͠͝ ̶̖̫͓̼̯̮̝͙̟͉͍̭͂͊̽̓̓͒̑ͅn̶̢̳̤͓̮̲̱͉̱͚̯͔̪͙͑̒ờ̸̬͓̪̐̍͜t̶̖̯̺͕̼̤̟̩̞̤̬͍͖͔̏̎͂͋͐̓̃́͊̀̄̂̕͘͝h̵͓̞̥̟͔̹̥̲̮̀̓̏͊̒̀̋̽͝ḯ̶̭͉̩͇͖͈͔̜̯͕͔̓̉̒́̂̐̽̚͜n̶͓̰̱̮̼̳̼͈̻̳̪̒̃̆̓̂̋̅̑̈͛̀̍̉g̶̡̢͇̳̱̬̯̥̲̫̼͕̤̳̀̅̊̉̄̕ ̸̡͔̖̼̺̱̂͆͐͋̀́̓͆̄̕̕̚b̶̖̘̗̠̹̘͙̘̺̿̃ṵ̸̰̻͕̗̉̀t̷̡͙͔̭̖̬̖̍͊̾̈́̀̊̑ͅͅ ̴̧̦̙̥̰̯̱͎͉̖͓̤̺̮̓̑̋̿̔͌̉͘͜t̴̨̢̨̛̘̤̞͎̤͍͇̘͙̏͑́̔̂̈́̂͆͋̊͜͜ḩ̶̧̫̝͖͂e̷̲̋͋͂̈́̓͐͑ ̵̢̡̛̪̰̺̝̱̯̤̹̠̰́͌̇̾̈́͘V̸̧̟̜͎͖͈͖̠͓̩̬̫̙͑̓͒̕͝͠ơ̵̡̳̪̘̞͖̦̬͋͒̆͊͆̎̿̐̈́̒̓́͘̚i̴͍̱͈̊̀͋̄̿̑̈̀ḑ̴̹̠͎̹̜͔̫̥̖̝̯͌͌͆͑͛̀̈́͛̎́̅͐̀̂̅ ̸̨̯͇̥̤̬͉̝̺̈́̇͋͛̀̿̋̌͗͌͛̇̚ǻ̷̱͇̤̝̞͉̓̓͒͗̒̑̓͊̀̃̋̕̚n̵̨̲̐d̸̨͕̠̭̬̳̘̙̽͌̓͘͠ ̵̧̢̢̛̜̳̮̱͚̲̤͕̭̳́́̅̀́̏̇̀̓͘͝y̶͇̩̆͌̈́̏̓̐͌͋̄̏͝͝o̶̞̰̝̘̿͑̒̑̒̓̀͋͘͠ų̷̧̟͔͕͖̻̬͖̣̣̼̳̳̓̾͊̔̾͑̈̍̇̋͛̾́͝ ̶̢̪̯̯̯͍̩̹̇̅̇̈́͌̂̕̕͠͝a̶̧̢͕͇̹̺̖̭̲̦̘͂̈̈́͒̈́̈́̂͒̏̈́͜͝͠͝ŗ̴̨̳̙̣̘̟̲̠̪͇̈́̅͗͗̚͜͝͠e̴̢̛̹̰̲̱̗̱̣̋̎̇̾̓̋̓̀̊̓́ ̸̬͔̻̻̬̖̯͍̬̟̃̿̐͑̈̚a̶̼̬͎͚̮̜͚͕̞͇̐͝ ̸̮̓͊́́̚b̵̨̨̥̦̰̯̥̜̦͈̼͇͒̆̊͌͜͝e̴̢͖̳̅̾̍̃̋̈́͒́̔̂̅́͂̕͠å̴̡̛̟̭̞̗̳̹̲͎͇̍̈́͆̓͜͜ͅc̴̖̣̟̤̑̓͝ͅo̶̺̖̮̱̜͖̱̲̫̥̠̜̾̇͊͛͒̒̌̔ņ̸̣̻̠̮̙̭̰̒̉͛̏͛͂̚ ̴̢̳̣͚̰̝͓̬̙̺̩̋̎͂́̌̈̇̾̓̇͛̕͝͝ț̸͔̭̅̐̈̾̀̅̅ơ̶̧̛̬̺̘̮̙̘̻̲̥̖̰̄̌̌̈́͋͆̐͗̅͘̚͘͝ ̸̫͙̹̤̍̃̑̈́͋̓̀̓̃̚͘̕͜͝͝ͅd̶͖̳͕̹̞͍̥̍̓̅̑̿̄̋̃ŕ̴͇̗̯͍̕à̶̰̯̩̹̳̦̘́́̊̀̍̾̈́́̾͋͒̈́̆͊͜ẃ̷͕̰͉̞͍̲̟̤̟͙̒̎͝ ̶̡̡̛̪͇͍̫͓̮͎̜͙͂̄͂ͅl̵̢̜̙̥̟͕̟̯͈̝͎̃̆̓o̵̦̲̙͙̬̱͐͛̓̌͊͊̏̿̿̉̂̕͘͝s̴̨̢̖͈̲̦̞̀͌͊̎̽́͂̾̓͝ṫ̷̨̼̈́̈́̋̆͒̇͋̚͝ ̴̰̺̝̬̟̮͕̟̤̠̭̜̻̓͛́͒̿̀͜͝s̷͎̞̘͎̓̿̈̃̊̃̔̋̇̂̕̕o̷̬̠͂̇͑́̃̔́̽̃͒́̃̀̕ü̸̗̬̺̂͂̆l̷̜̭̞͆̈́̿̋̇̽́̕̕͜͝͝ş̴̦̦͚̙̻͉̪̩͓̠̩̲̍̅̉̎̓̾͑̽̒̑͘͠͠͝͝ ̸̡̛͓̝̥͚̺̰̳̥̰̰̳̬̲̏̃̐̈́̀̄͊̍͂́̃͝ţ̶̧̨̛̯̘̗̪͉̫̬̜̲͈̈́́̀̇͒̀̅͒̓̈́̐̈́̚͜o̴̻̳̠̣̟̭͕̭̰̓͑̈́͊͠͝͝ ̵̢̡͎͕̦͖̗̗̭̤̗́̒̇̃̈́̿̐̒͝͝i̵̪̼̠̭̼̩̭͙̲͚̾̅̉̕t̵̨̻͍͎͔͈͉͈̬͕̱̪͓̎͂̓.̷̡̨̣̭̈́͛͆͗ ̶̜̰̭͎͌͋͛̋͆͐̒̿̇̉̇͊͝͝͝

‘We must do better,  We must be better in order to flourish. Only by being our best selves can we build a legacy that will last the test of time.  To do otherwise would be but sheer folly as one day your children will look you in the eyes and see nothing but a monster.”  
M̵̨̯̞͎͙͚͍͚͓̖͇͒̋̈́̒̋ò̵̧̗͖̱͔̤̔̌̔̑̒̊̃̒̚̚͝͠ṛ̴̙̘̮̹͚͚͚̖̉͑̄̆͘͝ͅě̸̛̝̐̍͘͠ ̵̺̿̈̏ȕ̶̧̧̨͍̯̗̹̓̓͒̈́̈́n̵̢͙̪͍̠̬̬̭͙̘̮̳̿-̴̢̢͔̦̬̠͈̺̫̭̘͌̾̈̐͌̇̽̔̓͠͝ͅt̴͎͇̣̹̖͔͇̦͖̜͍̃͆̄̊͐̓͌̓́̄̕ͅŗ̸̪̲̥͒́͗͆̎̇́ṷ̶͔͙͖̫̑̾̃̍̚ṱ̶̨̧̧̡̦̜̺̾h̶̘͉͎͓̣̖̳̠̮̦͎̓͆̊̀̎̈̓ͅș̴͖̣͓̿.̶̳̀ ̵̡͎̝̝̟̮̫̙̘͎͔͈̀́͐̀̂̃̿ͅẎ̷̭̭̞̻̞͓̘̩͋̀o̶̢̬̍͋̔̎̎̏̉̒̓̓̚ų̷̧̡͈̤̠̤͓͎͚̼̜͕̬́͊̐̐̎̈́̍́ ̶͉͚̫͎̭͖̜̺̠̪̲̼̳̔͒̋͌̾̇̇́̚͝͝͠͝ͅk̵̯̆͝n̸̢̢̳̮̰͔͉̟͙̍͑̉͊̿̋̔̉̓̈͘͝ȯ̴̳̣̟͈̔́͊̈́̊͌͑̏̈̈́̕͘w̶̡͖͈̫͔̥͍͖͎͓̭͈͖̪͌́̉͑̑̏̂̀́̓̅̓͠͝͠ ̵̲̞̳̠̠͉̤̌̀w̷̧̱̲̬̲͔̔h̸̛͎̦̞̟̰̑͌̇̂̏̈́̄͗̇̍͊̕͜͠à̶̛̹̳͚̹̆̑͆͋͌̽̆̕͘̚͠͝ͅt̷͔̳̉̆̈̈́̏͂̀͊͛̀̐̏̆̒͝ ̸̧̭͇̮̣̐̈́́̂̏̒̓̃̈́͛̈͘͜y̸̬̳̩̬͖̟̘̼͓̫̔̂͆͝o̷̡͇̫̪̊ͅú̴͔̻̀̎̂̆̄̃̔̎̒̒ ̸̮̝̪̮̰̃̎̂̃̔͑͜ǎ̵̺̜̖͈̫̣̬̺̂̈́͑̌͗̓̿̓͗̋͒̽͝r̵͕̱̗͕̗͉͉͚̝̫̈́̾͜è̴͓̘͔͉͔̠͎͓̬̰͉̦͌̍́̎͂̽̊̈́͊̽͊͑͝ ̴̢̡͈͓̩͖̘͍̹̑͒̆̇͌̉͌͋͂̈́͊̀͘͝͝Ş̴͇͔̩̈͆̓͌̀̒͝͝ḩ̸͈̖͐̉͂̃́̾̑̔̍͑͌̈̿͝͝ǐ̷̮͌͛̽̀m̶̧̨̡̩̰̙̪̘̙̋̅ͅi̷̭͑̈̉́̽́k̷̘͖̳͈̃́ͅo̶̻̲̱̟̮͎͑͒̓̉̑̽̀́̽͋̾͝.̸̜̦̑̂̆̑̊̌͒́͑͒̀̀̊͆̀ ̶̯̭̪͓̻͈̫͔͍͚͖͎̺̄͛̈̒̈́́̋̕͝Y̷̡̨̡̨͕̺͙̖͓̝͇̗͎̗̦̿̑̈́̒͛̌̄͠o̷͎̝̠̹̼͂̈́͊́́̂̚͜͠͠͝u̷̩̮̮̔͑̒̽̊͆̈́͐̒̃̄͂͘͝'̴̞̗̳̗̜͕̠̺̎͒̀̕̕v̴̨̯̫͔̠̠̉̂̆̓̾ę̵̱̘͙̥̼̤̲͈̦̫̫̄͂̔̎̊͒̍̄̐ ̵̨̜̮̹͌̇͐́͘̚ͅą̸̫͛l̵̢̛̛̲̠̗͓̞̮̬̻̀̈͒͒̆͌̔͐̓̒͘͜ẁ̶̥̩̗͇̮̥̱̣͖̮̯͙̿̌͆̉̀́̌ͅa̶̧̱̭̥͍͖̫̲͍̖͓̺͛̑̈́̎̃́̈́̀͂̋͊̃̊̏̚ͅy̴̢̧̨̰̗̦͈̝͇̬͐̽̐̿̈͑̆̅͜s̸͚̠̒̽̀̌̑̉̅̅͆̎͜ ̷̩̦͙̣̩̺̦̺̋͛̄k̶̡̧̘͕͖̞͍̒̓n̴̪̝̲̟͘ơ̶̤̲͌͑̆͋͋͗̒̕w̸̧̧̦͉͇̬͍̖͇͎̫͐̂̎̈̉̌̓̆͐̍͘͜n̵̢̧͚̻̖̂͂͝.̴̨̝͉̙̙̓͗͋̈́̈̎͋ ̶̜̹̱̤̻̻͙̎͌̍͗͊̃̔̅̐̄̍͘͜͜Ŝ̶͍̤͙́̈́̄̇̆̈̎̎́̌̐̇̍͜a̷̡̖̞̙̙̜͍͍͚͆͛̇͐̆̋̉͝͝͠y̷̳̾̀͑͒̚̕͝ ̵̡̻͕͖͉̦̪͑̿̇̂̒̀ḯ̴͖̿̅̇̓̑́́̂͘t̴̗̺͕̠̹̺̤̞͇͈̍́̋̎̌̍̈́̓͆̾͛̏͝.̸̧̭̳̲̟̞̺̘̫͉̠̹̞̊̈́̐̀̈̎͒͐̀͂̈͝ ̴̢͚̯̭͎͖͑͋̔̅͂͗



"I......AM..... a monster..." she whispered. She didn't want to kill her friend. She didn't want to kill Seigi. But if she let them take murder away from her then she was nothing. She will have proved Celestia right. The Necrossiah preyed on this fear and continued to drown out her friend's words.




K̴͉̭͎͓͎̓̾̚͝į̶̧̤̳̰͔͎̖͑͌͛̇͑͋͒̍̅̚̚͜͠l̵̤̗̰̄͑̏͐́̈́́̂̿͛̒l̵̠̳͚̭̝̖̱͔̞̭̮̣͛͠ ̷̡͓͈̻̣̩̦̠̫̞̠̼̿̔͌͌͝ͅţ̵̛͈̺̪̠̭̤̪͔͉̠͓̠̈̈̓̓̃̔̈́̂̋͒͗̽̽h̸̡̡͕͎̠͓̥̥̗͓̟́̓̽͜e̸̢͍̺̤̯͉͉̋̈̌͋͝͠ ̴̧̢̗̜̹̱̮̦̠͇͓̝͕̳͂c̴̨̛̙͚̳̽͆̈͒̾͗͂̕͜ḩ̷͎͈̗͈̯̐͌̈́̏͆̌͋̿͒̏̕͠i̴̡̜̼̣͓̤̜̣͎̟͈̋̽̒̄̉́̔̏̽͆̽̆͘͠͝l̷̨̟͉̟̖̩̝̙͚̼͍̜̈́͆͑̊̆̓̂̎̄̓̇d̸̢̧͓̣̗̜́̓̀͜.̶̢̨̨̣͚̭̠̮̲͔͎͔̗͗̇͊̈́ ̵̞͓̤͖̪̰̳̺͛̑̋̍̽̾̉̍͋̈́̈́́̕͘͝ͅC̴̙̰̝̠̞̻͙̍̀̐̓͌̌̋̔͘͠ò̸̦̘̹̰̥̙̬̯̾̈͒̔͜r̴̡͉͉̱͙̝̋̾̅̓̾̽̾͌͘̚͝r̸̡̡̭͙̹͍̫̫̘̥̿͜ű̶̙̝̯͒̌̀͒̉̚͠p̸̨͇͕͎̙̠̩͙̻̗̆̊̌̆̂̍̊̈́̎͒̌̔̑͘͠t̶̢̎̃̋̆͋̍̕ ̷̡͈͔̊̓͗͆͂̓̾̀̂͘͝ţ̴̗̦̣͒͑̇̽̔͛̃͋̈́̿̒͝ḩ̴̧̧̘̯͉̗̗͙̱̠͚̞̈́͆͐é̴̘̼̭̺̥͂̊́̽̈́͋͝m̴̻̯͇̝̺̫͎̣̝̤̌͆͛̈́̅̾̔͐́̚͝͠͠͝ ̷̲̭̥̫̱̰͚̱̹̲͔̑a̴͇̖̺̭͘l̵̺̑͑ḷ̸̢̧̢͔͍̳͖̃̂̈.̸̡̠̝͛̎͂̆̾̿͗̈́̌̚̚ ̶̡̨̧̨̛̙͙̰̮͈̗̭̩̇̿̔̕͝J̸̳̙͇̜̜̱͇͉̬͈̥̭̦̜̅̈́̽̒̕͠ā̶̡̼̬͗̾̀̓̅̏̾͊̓̑̑̚s̶̬̩̞̜̬̫̰̟͉̥̻͎͍̹̈́͌͗̑͗̈́̀̂̈́̈́̋̏̕͠h̴̨͇͚̖̬̦͕̖̉̌̋͊̅͆̇̊͛͋̔̎̒͝͝í̵̲̘͉̝͍͙̒̔̉̀̾͘͠ṅ̴̫͖̜̫͍̩̔̋̚ ̶͙͈̲̙̻̳̤͇̻̘̞͉̇̍͗́̈́͊́̒̈́̽̕h̷̢̛̰̭̦̙̖̓̉͒̑͗̅̓̈̆̓̊͝͠͝a̷̧͓̥̞͉̱̼̗̰͉̰͖̓̽͋̈͒̃̅̏́̎̚͘̕s̴͔̝̄̐͑̓͘ ̵͙̜̤͚̅̏͐̚̕n̵̡̤̙͎̰͓̖͎̜̘̻̺͖̍̏͂̅ͅŏ̸̡̙̥͎̯̹̥̳͚̼̫͎̏̀̿͒͒̈́̑̍̿̓͆̈́͝ ̷̨̢̱̣̬̍̓̂̿͛̎̍̂͋͑́͆̅͝ė̶̱̹̦̩̝͚͂̄̒̀q̶͎͈͕͎̝̤̿͋̑̑̿̋͒̈́͘͝͠ư̴̲̿̈́̉́̈́̈͊͝a̷̡̛̟̪̗͖̹͎͓̞̒͒́͌͊̽̀̐͝l̵̡͎̮̤̻̫͓̖̺̘͔̟̓̅͌́̋ͅ.̷̡̨̛̛̖͍̻̰̮͍̘̙̝͔̖͋̋̈̿͊̐͝ ̵̱̎̿̌͆̈́̃̓͘
“Tis wrong to keep an innocent child in captivity.  A cage is still a cage no matter how gilded.   Tis even more disturbing to think of taking their life just to prove a point.  Have some empathy and  think of how you would feel if someone pulled that on you with the Twins.   Tis not a very pleasant thought to consider, no?”
“That’s why I need Nozomi alive. Not out of some sense of sentiment or  because of my personal feelings but because she’s the number one best source of information we have and the key to discovering the true culprits.  If we can turn her to our side we couldn’t ask for a better woman on the inside.”
Ị̶̧̪͕͙̟̤̮̩̹͈̂͂̈́̕ͅ ̴̧̢̻̞̓̈́̎̉̔̌͗͝m̵͓͍͉̹̤͚͆̈͗͂͌͂̈́͌̑͝ͅȧ̷̠̺̗̲̣̹̼͉͒̅͌͊̐͘d̸̘͈̻̭͖̠͈̯̓̊̒̊͑̆̒̽̌̈́̄͠ė̵̜̹͕̣̈̔̽̇̆͋͛̀̇͝͝ ̵̧̛͉̞̟͚̰͍̜̾͛͜a̷͖̼̅̇̀͘͘͝͝ ̶̡̧͇͓͈̬̪̪̎̋͒͒͋̔͒͆̾̇͝ć̵̜̰̯̗̣̖̺̑̑̈́͂ố̸̡͇̳͉̻͒̿̃̏͝v̷̡̧̭̯̜̞͕͖̙̜̭́̆̔̇́͗̽e̴͖̬̘̲̤̺̯͉͉̟͗͗̓̀̔̀͑͆͊̀̌̈̕n̸̢̻̜̬̿̒̌͆̈̋̌̚͘̕͝ặ̵̹̞͚̩n̴͕͚̪̰͖͉̥̙̙͈͍̉͝t̷̡̝̱͉͍͉̜̝̒̒̂̌́̈̈́̏̈́͋͜͝ ̷̨̧̡̟̦̱̲̟̥̺̤͎̮̊̀̔̈͜ͅṯ̸̳̺͔͖͉͍̯͓͉͐̄̄͋̐̉̍̈́̔̇̉̈́̑̕̚͜ỏ̵̡̡͔̻̼̘͍͖̞̪̬̀̌̇͒͂́̉̋̅͂̽̄͊̚͜ ̸̢̢̖̱͉̳̺̬̱͉̮̭̭̂̊̿̋̍̊̅͛͝ͅr̴̛̝̩̳͕̞͕͌̃̿̐͊͘͘ȩ̵̺̲͓̗̭͉͓̩̻͎͖̒ͅt̵͖̯͈̓̈́̒ͅù̷̬̮̝̠̤͔̩̠̥̑̊̈́̀̈́͌̚̚͜͜͝r̵̛̦̜̘͚̤͎̃́́̉̑̿̓̃̇̈́̅͊̈́͘͜ͅn̸̛͔̺̓̔̀̈̇̿͒ ̶̤̼̦̓̀̋̉̓̀̚͠͝ą̷̻̣̲̟̭̫̩̯̊̌͝ͅn̵̛̰̮̰̜̬̮̩͇͕͎̮̦̼̏͛̾̋̈̈̄̕͜d̵̡͚̯̖̚ ̵̫̇̂̒̅̉̃͌͗̚̕̚͝r̷͕̘̫͓̓́̆̓͂̈́̈́̐̇͝ę̴͔̥̥̤̰̭̩͎̗̮͔́̃͊̈́̔̆̓̏͊t̷̢̗͕̟̤̤̺̩̲̯͚̃͜ͅư̵̧̼͓͔͉͈̹̺̭͌̀͌̀̽̒̏̆́͆̕ṟ̷͔͓̱̥̅̅̌̄̓͑́͌͆̄̏̚͘͘͠ñ̶̢͉̭͍̳͈̜̫̞͚̈̀̂̀̌̊̔̍͘͘͠ ̸̹̻͉̺͚̣̲̝͍̂̏̑̄̔̀͗͌̀͘Ì̶̫̗͌̓̿͛ ̶̢̛̹̝͕̤͎̘̫̠͙̜̝̙̂̑͗̌͛̔̌̅̓̀̈́͂͘s̷͉̠̮̯̯͚̯̜̱̼̦̱̟͌̍̓͐̊͛̏͠h̶̛͚̞̰̰̾͌̾̈̊̍́́̓̽́͗̇͗ä̷͚̟́̑̾͗̄̎̀͐̿͝͠ļ̵̡̨̛̩̙̹̫̞̜̤̤͔͓͎͆̽̈́̉̎͂̏̍͛̂̍̅͋̂͜l̷̫̠̫̘͒̓͗͂̽̊́͐.̴̻͎̦͐̈́͌̈̓̑́͠ ̵̢̭̭̼̪̗̇̈́̑̈́̋̄̚͝W̸̧̧͇͙̳̹̯͍͕̝̩̭̺̦̠͂͂͑͑̎̓̃̍̈́̿͘̚͝͝ȩ̴̼͓͇̜̬̱͚̹̗̮̮̤͔̇̑̏͌̎̕̕ ̵̪̩͙̓̋͌͋́̕͝͠w̷̡̻̱̠̎̽̊͗͆͐͒̋̚i̴̜̽̃l̶̨͚̞͓͈̥̭̫̼̣̥̩̠̔l̶̨̖͉̼̙͕̘̬̟̀́͋́̇̉̇̽̄̅̀̈̆ ̵̨͙̲̻̱̻̥̝͎̠̝̅͌̓̈̊̿̀͑ͅs̷̛̪͖͈̩͚͍̜͖͍͐͋̓̌̄̌̊̒͝͝ͅw̸̮̺̟͇̺͎̯̪̹͌e̵̡̳̬͛̾̇̿̽̊̓̍́̈̈̉͛e̶̲̱̦͓̼̦͖̮̅̒͒̈́͆̾́̀͗̌̀͛͐̕͠p̶̱̹̀̀͒̈́̋̎̆͜ ̷̨̠̼͖͓͉̮̈̈ͅẗ̵̡̳̜̭̣̩̦͕̹̖̠̊̽̽̋̚̕͠ͅͅh̶̡̜̤͉̥̰̗̮̰͈͎̥̫́͗̚e̸̩̗̾͆͘m̶͔̎͒̂͐͌̌̀̊̓ ̸̬͎̝̝̥̥̭̞̗͒͒ͅa̷̧̪̦͔̪̗͔̳͚̮̥͚̜͆̊͆̅̀͜͝͠l̴̲̲̦͈̳̜̻̐͋͠l̸̹͖͚̬̤̠͕̯̂̾́̈́̍̂͜ ̵͚̞̮͊̓̈̆̌͑̅͒̍̂͘ì̷̛̮͕̮͗͋́̄͂͛͊͐̐̀̇̓n̸̡̨̙͎̮̣̫̺̐̓̃̃̋͌̇͌͋̑͐̄̂͜t̴͙͕̹͔̜̱̀̂̋̆̇̀͜͝ͅo̸̬͓̮͉͔̣̜͓͕̩͔̣̒̏̈́̽̐̅̇͘̕͜͝ ̷̭̜̟͒̓̍̄̆t̸̨͉̼͉̠̪̠͇͈̣̫̖̳́̽̈́͝ͅh̸̡̨̢̛̹͈̲̹̞̣̪̜̝͎̎͌̓͑͒́̒̂̈́̇́͝ͅè̷̢̛̜̲̺͈̻̣̰̣͈̲̔̈́͂̎̅͗̊̿͂͘͝ ̸͎̪̜̺̟̙̤͚̬͎̜͇̕s̸̬̘̤̱̘̳͑̋̔̄̏͂̂̀̐̈́́͌̽ͅẗ̶̡̡̗͎̜́̂͋͌͒̀́̔̽a̸̬̞̼̮̍̉̍̋ͅŗ̷̹͈̺̝̦̎̐̔͌͗̎̅̓͂͠s̵̛̳̜̙̜̱͍̗͋͒̃̿͛̔̈́̒̕̕ ̵̞̞̩̣̣̣́̊̋̉̌̇̾̍͐̋̕͜͜a̴̹̱̩̪̪̲̘͇̺̩̯̅̽̓̊̀̋͗͂͊́̆̀͝͝͝n̴̪̅̊ḑ̴̠͓̥̫͚̘͔̹̬͇̞̞̓̔͑̓͐͒͝ ̷̡̘̭̬͙̲͍̭̗̯̤͙̠̤̑̔́̎̄́͋̀̈̈́̕ͅȩ̸̲̰̯̤̤̽͋̓̓̏͛͐̔̾͋v̷̮̘̝̘̗̤̬̠̏̿̄͜e̶̩̲̠͆͌̓͂̍̿̀̽r̴̩͍̪̙͛̑͝ẙ̷̡̞̩̼̳̻̼̭̖̠̙͖͖̝̒́̉̀̿͛̅̿̍͘ ̸̢̛͚̰̖̱̞̺̼͇͚̤̤̹̣́̃́̾̉̄̎͗́̐͌̕͜͝w̵̡̢͇̤̰͈̘̯̤̟̦̼̒̄͛̋̉͐̉̕ͅͅó̵̢͖̮͚̯͓̙̫̓͒̈̉ͅṛ̴͌́l̶̗͑̎̿̏͊̿̒͒̚͠͝ͅd̸̢͇̫̦̭̉͋̆̂̚͝ ̵̨̟̖̼̥̭̯̤̤̱̭͚̄ẃ̵̻͍̮̱͎̬̜̞͓̗͈͙̟̜̱̈̉̆i̶̗̟̳̩̩̣̝̻̟͍̥͛̆̃̉l̸̘̮̜̖̙̩̹̥̪̰̮̩̮̏̉͐̈́͐̎͛͐̆̆̕̕͠ḷ̴̡̱͉̭̥͎̃̒̓̃͋͗̾ ̵̨̧̺͕̻̥͔͖̜͖̩̋̏̓̆̿̾̈̽̅̄̔̔͑͋̎͜ľ̴̹̬̥͚͕̆̽̽̓̎̉͗̄͂̈͐͝ͅe̸̢̞̳̮͓̺͚͓̩̭̲͈̮̟̐̏̆́̃̆͊͜a̷͙̖̼͉̤̫͗͒͊̚̚͘ķ̶͉͖͍̯̩̥͆͆̓̈́̓͘͝ ̵̰̖͉̟̦͓̭͉͍͔͇̤̦̮̐̈́̒̾̂̃̇̇̕͝͝͠ẅ̷̡̱̤͓̩̳͚͎̣͎̖͂̃̏͂̽̑̕̚͠i̶̠̙̗͔̪̻͙̪̜̞͙̥̭̘̦̽t̵̡̧̛̠̭̼̫̫͔̖͙̹͓͇͉̆́̅̾̍̇̇̽̕͝ḩ̴̢̧͇̗̻̩̘̭͉̝́́̽̽͒̊͆̈́̃̏̏́ͅ ̷̛̥̦̩̮̗̺̺̼̖͍͖͐́͗̎͂̔̋̽̃̚͜͜ͅt̷̨͖̭͇̟͝h̷͉͎̱̰͍̩̖͑̓̐̈́̽͐̎̈́̃̓̄ę̴̧̱͇͕̫̝͖͎̅̀̍͌̊̔̐̇ͅ ̸̛̖͓̱̜̘̘̏͊̐̾̾̌̕͜b̵̧͌̈͆͒̆̽̎̋͑̐͠l̶̯͚͚͖̬̺̞͖̽̈́͜͜ͅo̸͍̭͍̼̳̾̾͑ö̷̯́͋̾̐͋͆̊͌͘̕͘͠͝d̷̜̾̐͋ ̸̧̢̺̱̻͎͕̙̘̤̥̦͂o̵̧̢̙̥̗͕͖̩͉̤̳̘̅͒̑͊̐̾̆̿̏̀̀͛̋̚͜f̷̧̛̦̜̫̩̟̙̝͉̎̏̎́̑̏͊͋̏̂̾͋͜͠͝ͅ ̵͓̫͓̟̓͐̈͘b̷̢̡͔̖̲͚̼̙̦͚͓̰͊̇̀͌͐͐͊i̸͍͎̭̓̂͐͗͘͝l̴͚̍͊̂̐̽̽̎l̴̛̪̊̌̐͛̅̍̉̔͌͠͝i̸̧͇̬͉͎̯̬͖͖̰͇̤̥͕̋ǫ̸̥̗̪̟̘̠̲̜̦͓̈́̀̐̽̓͐͜n̵̛̟̓̾̈́̈́̃̋͑̀͌̔̒͝ş̸̡̦͉̞͈͙͖͙̄͐̑͆͌͆͋͆̽͋̐̑̈́͆͑.̴̟̖̋͌̀̓̍͒̆͜ ̵̛̛̳̳̼͓̌̎̿̀̓̓̄̎̇̂̄͑͊



Shimiko was hyperventilating again. The Necrossiah's influence was strong and even now it commanded her spirit to strike down the people that she cared the most about. Yet for all its cosmic power, it could not compel her to act outside of her own volition. It could persuade, it could argue, but it could not move her. She wanted Ryuko to fight her. She wanted to shut out the vulnerability. Shimiko raised her eyes back to that of her friends and in that instant her eyes changed shape. The horizontal white pupil shrank and was joined by eight distinct tomoe. One for each of the Hydra that dwelt below the Land of Hot Springs. Hachidora Ketsurygan.... Shimiko stared into her friend's eyes. The blood once more began to leak out of the corner of her cornea. She ignored it and forced eye contact with the Queen.

"Ryuko. Stop. Just stop. I'm not what you think I am. I never was. I pretended to be....maybe because I wanted to be liked...maybe because I wanted you to not feel bad when I had to kill you...what you're asking of me is impossible...I-I'm going to show you why"

Shimiko didn't want Seigi to see her like this but there was no holding back now. She had to show Ryuko all of it. Appropriate or not, it was the only thing she had left. A hail mary if you will. She couldn't bring herself to murder her sister the way she had her mother so perhaps she could shock Ryuko into doing what was necessary. When the Vestal saw the full scope of the Chinoike's crimes she'd have no choice but to fight her.

If eye contact was maintained, Shimiko would utilize the Genjutsu: Ketsurgan technique to transport them into a dimension with a cosmic background. Galaxies, clusters, planets, and stars flew by as they hurtled through space and time. Ryuko would be paralyzed, unable to move or speak but she could see. Shimiko intended to show her just what kind of "person" her Nakama really was.

Shimiko would show Ryuko how she had met the Jashinists. How she had stalked and killed with them frequently as a genin. She'd show Ryuko her first love, a young man that had sacrificed himself so that she could taste the exquisite act of murder. Ryuko would be able to feel, sense, and truly know why Shimiko was the way she was. She had always loved violence and from the moment she sliced open her first crush she was hooked. There was one murder in particular that had stained her soul. She wanted Ryuko to see this one in particular.

The space around them contorted and soon they were in a basement. The damp underground boiler room was filthy and in the center lay a young boy. An innocent orphan had been crucified while a group of robed cultists stood around him chanting. The child's only crime was trusting a group of strangers who told them that they had food and a warm place to stay. One of the cultists stepped forward and threw off their hood revealing a young Shimiko Chinoike

What happened next would be one of the vilest acts ever undertaken by a member of Kumo's military.

The cult demanded that a grand sacrifice be made to Janshin in remembrance of the late Raikage. Shimiko didn't have to dirty her hands with the details. She could think of a few people she wouldn't mind killing but the village tended to frown on open murder. An homeless orphan however would not be missed. The Janshinists had grabbed him and crucified him in the basement boiler room of a dilapidated and forgotten building. By the time Shimiko arrived he was so exhausted than he had not the strength to scream. He was dying slowing of asphyxiation but that was not how he'd meet his end. Shimiko wore the dark robes that was customary for a religious sacrament such as this one. Each member of the cult had their hood lowered over their face, obscuring their identities while they prayed to Janshin. A long ceremonial blade was pressed into the Chinoike's hand.

Don't look away.... Shimiko warned.

Shimiko stabbed the blade into his stomach and dragged it across his abdomen. The young man gasped and watched as his entrails spilled on the floor. Once disembowelment was complete, Shimiko stabbed him in his chest repeatedly, destroying his heart in the process. Once the sacrifice ceased moving, she held up the blade and put it in her mouth as if to savor the test. As she did, she closed her eyes and meditated on what precisely she was doing and why. She was a devout follower of Janshin but she had always found blood to have a foul taste. Now however it was sweet, not tasty but rich as if it was ambrosia.

If that scene wasn't enough, Shimiko whisked them forwards in time. They would soon find themselves in a mystical underground cavern. The duo floated above as they watched Shimiko present her parents to the 7 Headed Hydra of the Chinoike Clan.

Shimiko yanked the gag from the woman's mouth.

Celestia coughed up iron and hoarsely begged for her life.

"Shimiko please! Whatever I've don-, whatever we've done, we can get through this as a family. Please god no don't do this. Please. Please. Please."

Shimiko stood behind her mother and gripped her by her hair. She held the head back and produced a serrated kunai. It was a weapon she had made as a genin. A small object that had said so much about her personality and her approach to the shinobi lifestyle. The jagged edges would make this excruciatingly painful. She had brought this weapon for a reason.

"What would your brother think?" she whispered in a desperate bid to cause her daughter to reconsider. She knew Shimiko was always closest to him. Maybe his memory would cause her to stop and think for a moment. The name did make her pause, but when she thought of how he died and how powerless she was to stop it. She knew what needed to be done.

Without ever responding to the woman that birthed her, Shimiko yanked Celestia's head back further and dragged the serrated kunai against her mother's throat. Shimiko's mother made a gurgling sound and began to thrash wildly. Shimiko remained still as she held her mother fast. Blood squirting from her neck and running down her body. The affair was messy and filled with pain. Shimiko didn't care about her mother but she knew there was no turning back from this. There was no do-overs. She was committed to forever being someone who killed their own family for a taste of power.

Ghost-Shimiko pointed to her father as if highlighting the fact that he would not be spared.

Shogu Chinoike trashed wildly within his bounds. He screamed so hard through his gag that even the Hydra appeared moved. The man flashed and flared his chakra but to no avail. Shimiko had nearly broken his spine and short-circuited his tenketsu with her blood. The substance was leaking out his ears and mouth as she punished him for his defiance. The man strained and fell over. He was racked with sobbing. He had buried his son and just watched his own beloved daughter murder his wife. He then went still as grief and shock consumed his mind. There was nothing left for him in this life, and he did not know it yet but there'd be nothing for him in the next either.

Shimiko grabbed the man by his blonde hair. Hair that she had inherited from him. Seigi had taken after their mother and she their father. Shimiko couldn't say why she had taken out her mother's gag. Maybe it was because she wanted her mother to talk her out of it. Maybe because she hated her mother more than her father and wanted to hear her beg. Or perhaps because at the end of the day, it was both. She just wanted to prove that she could endure her mother's protests without reconsidering. Now that that was done she didn't want or need to her her father's words. Not that the man had anything to say anyways. Celestia had made Shimiko think of Seigi. Her older brother dying in a hospital, unable to save himself. For some reason, her father had made her think of Nozomi. It wasn't anything he said or did in particular that set the thought off, but it came to her nonetheless. She remembered losing to the girl. She remembered how it felt and she remembered what Nozomi had said to her. She had spoken the words warmly, but there was an undeniable condescension to them.

" We're not all monsters."
"But some of us are" Shimiko replied to the memory.

Shimiko slashed her father's throat and pushed him forwards. The ANBU Captain stepped back and sheathed the kunai. She stared back at the Hydra whom stared back at her. Seconds passed. Minutes passed. Hours passed. It was tough to say how long the Hydra waited, but wait he did. Shimiko stared back at him defiantly. She had just killed her mother and father. The act had given her a calmness of spirit. A patience and peace that she had never known. But it also stained her soul. There was a black mark of evil that indelibly marred her personhood. A mark that would never be erased.

The various heads of the Hydras suddenly moved forward. They violently gored and ripped her mother and father's bodies apart. Far from a proper burial, Celestia and Shogu were torn to pieces and eaten by the creatures. Nothing but a pile of blood entrails were left. Shimiko used her blood to gently push the remainder of her parents into the abyss and  The husband and wife's body and soul were consumed by the Hydra. It would give them fuel for what was about to happen next.

It was a gruesome sight and watching from this perspective made Shimiko sick to her stomach. It took a lot to make this Jashinist nauseous but the memory was quite painful. Ryuko had connected with Nozomi in the Valley of Jehosphat through a process that was originally designed by the Sage to bring peace. It was through that action that Ryuko came to her beleif that Nozomi was worthy of forgiveness. Shimiko had her own method of connecting with Ryuko and this was it. She would no longer hide that part of herself from her closest friend.

When they returned to the here and now it was as if the world was reconstructing itself around them. The furniture, the building, even Seigi appeared to shift into the exact position they were in prior to the trip. While the experience covered huge chunks of Shimiko's life mere seconds had passed in the real world. Shimiko wiped the blood from her own cheeks and looked at her friend. She didn't want to use the Ketsurygan to hurt her or damage her mind. If they were to fight, she'd give Ryuko a fair chance to defend herself or go on the offensive. She had done what she had done to give the Raikage the full picture of who she was allying herself with. She wanted to provoke Ryuko into attacking her. She wanted to force her into releasing her from the burden and guilt of having to murder someone who meant so much to her. Shimiko had done so to her parents and she beleived that she could do it again but her soul would not allow it. The illusion was more than a ploy for violence though. It was much more than that. It was a cry for help.

"There. Now you know..." she said her voice filled with pain. "Now you know why Sakata left me. He didn't need to see what I showed you. He could tell what I was and it scared him. I killed them....innocent children, a close friend, my own parents....for strength....for pleasure...because it made me feel right and powerful.." She reiterated what Ryuko had already seen for Seigi's benefit. There could be no secrets between them now. If Ryuko was fit to know then so was her brother. "Only the Twins can love me for what I am and even they don't know what I truly capable of."

Shimiko felt a surge of electricity building in her right breast. The Black Lightning Seal whirled to life and she let the sparks dance around her fingertips.

"Ryuko please" There was a tone of urgency now. "Nozomi isn't the one you should be concerned about. She isn't the one Kumo needs to fear. It's me. It's always been me...." Shimiko sighed as if resigning herself to her fate. "You need to make a choice now. Me or Nozomi...I showed you what I did to make it the easiest choice you'll ever have to make"

Shimiko turned to her brother and gave him a single command.

"Run"

Shimiko was fully convinced that despite all of Ryuko's efforts, the girl would have no choice but to fight her to the death. She couldn't bear to continue this conversation any longer. It was too painful. She'd rather 1,000 deathmatches against Ryuko, Nozomi, the world. She was saying things she never thought she'd have to say out loud. She was confronting the real reason for her obsessive hatred of Nozomi and all the girl stood for. She had held it together for so long and unless she started killing or dying in the next few minutes it would all come crashing down around her.

Used: Hachidora Ketsurygan (A-Rank Version)

Intelligence: S

Seigi wanted rage to overtake him. The things Shimiko hadn't told him, the things she had done, he couldn't speak. His tried, but words simply could not come out of his mouth, his throat closed up, and not a peep could be heard. For a moment, tunnel vision overtook him and he couldn't hear the words between the two, still recalling what he had seen. He would look up to see Shimiko just as electricity began to emanate from her chest, threatening to spark outward, and a single word uttered from her mouth. Run.

Seigi would move, but not away from them. Instead, he would take but a single step, putting himself between Ryuko and Shimiko.

"No, goddamnit!" Seigi would roar, finally letting his own emotions explode outward. "I'm not leaving you again!" He would say, taking his psuedo-sister into his arms and embracing her, no matter how much the shock from her seal hurt. He would hug her tight, tears erupting from his own face now. "I don't care what you've done in the past, Shimiko. You're my sister. You're the only family I have left. I'm not leaving your side. Even if it kills me."

Truthfully, he related to Shimiko. When he was the Jinchuuriki for the 7-tails, he lost control countless times and hurt countless more. Part of his self-exile was purely so he could control the strength he had acquired and be able to control himself in a village so he didn't hurt anybody else. And yet he still did. He sold out his own people for power to Rivu, just as Shimiko had done with her parents. Their crimes were one in the same, and thats when Seigi realized the cosmic connection between them, how fate had them meet once again, and how he was here today. Not because this universe's Seigi and he were the same, but because Shimiko and Seigi were the same. Less like brother and sister and more like interdimensional counterparts.

He would hug his sister a little bit tighter.

Her approach seemed to be working at least at first.   Disarming had been the right call as Shimiko would never have let her approach so closely otherwise in her currently agitated state.  If the blond had been thinking clearly it was likely that the priestess wouldn’t have been able to catch her by surprise with the kiss.   The only question now was would that be enough to shock her friend’s brain into rebooting as Ryuko intended so that she’d be able to forget her anger for the moment at least and be able to think clearly once more?

The song seemed to soothe her further. Perhaps she should have ended it there and continued the embrace.    Perhaps trying to use more words in an attempt to talk sense into Shimiko after she had settled down had been a mistake.   They were as ever a clumsy attempt at understanding that couldn’t get across the same way actions could.  It was almost as if she was talking over Shimiko, like her sister couldn’t hear what she was saying.

“I smell a dark influence on her.”  Warned Rafaela but it was already far too late.  Just like with the Twins the priestess had missed the boat on when best to intervene by years.  There was no turning back the clock and undoing the damage that had been done.  

Shimiko said that she was a monster, just the like Twins had when Ryuko had been attempting to comfort them shortly after waking from her coma and discovering they had been chosen as jinchuriki.   Why did her family always seem to think such dark thoughts about themselves?   The priestess couldn’t understand why Shimiko could think that way but her friend would see fot to ensure  her enlightenment on the matter even if she wished for it or not as she activated her Hachidora Ketsurygan.

Never in her wildist dreams did Ryuko think that Shimiko would turn her clan’s infamous dojutsu on her, at least not without asking for permission first.   She’d heard wisperes about the existence of a more evolved form, one equivalent to the Mangekyō Sharingan the Uchiha were famous for wielding but she’d never confirmed it’s existence until now.    Just what dark deeds did her friend have to accomplish to unlock this new tier of power? That was another question she was about to understand even though she’d sorely wish later to have remained ignorant.

Her head spun her knees threatening to buckle.  Now she couldn’t understand the words Shimiko was saying.   She didn’t want Ryuko to feel bad when she had to kill the priestess… those words especially stuck out as being nonsensical.  She wanted to cry out with all of her being that Shimiko would never do such a thing but she found herself unable to move as the gejutsu took hold.

With her intelligence currently boosted Ryuko could have fought the influence but she chose not too.  If Shimiko had something to show her then it was something that she needed to see, even if it was painful.  She couldn’t flinch or look away, not if she was going to get the full picture.  She’d been operating without the full context behind Shimiko’s anger which is what led to this happening in the first place.  She couldn’t afford to make any more mistakes from being squeamish.

What she saw was appling. A Cult taking a vulnerable youth and indoctrinating her into their beliefs by way of coercion.   The Church had always warned her that the Jashinist were sick and twisted but she’d never have thought they would go as far as to sacrifice one of their own in order to secure a new adherent.

One would think one life for a new follow would be a net zero gain but that depended on who they managed to suck in.  Getting someone who was the sister of a Raikage and a member of a prestigious clan was like drawing the winning ticket in the lottery.  If she’d ever managed to talk Seigi into joining them during his reign then they would have been golden and while that hadn’t come to pass she’d been key in the preceding to get the Worship of Jashin legalized where once they had been ostracized.

Shimiko blamed herself for the muder but that was far from the truth.  Legally she was still a minor when it had taken place and couldn’t be held fully responsible for her actions in a court of law.  If tried for the crime she would be acquitted on account of cohesion and sent to therapy.

The second one was even more shocking as she watched Shimiko disembowel what looked to be a young urchin boy from off of the streets.   Seeing her friend like that made her blood boil. Hadn’t they said they were the more civilized version of Jashinist when they had applied for legalization?  Performing these kinds of rituals on death row prisoners was one thing but doing it to innocent children was another story.  Seeing someone she believed in, someone who told her that her church was better than the heretics that went around performing random murders made her want to be sick but Ryuko forced herself to swallow the bile that was threatening to rise up her throat and continue watching until the end.

Even that muder was nothing in the face of watching her murder her own parents, her own flesh and blood.   Ryuko knew they hadn’t exactly been what you’d call close but she wanted to deny that what she was seeing was real even while every fiber of her being was telling her that the vision she was being shown was the truth.    

If Shimiko could do that to her real family what could she do to her constructed one?  Was she so far gone that she would even attack and kill the Twins who she viewed as her own children? Would she really be willing to kill Ryuko who she loved as a sister?  

That quite doubt floated at the back of the priestess’s head threatening to crush her with guilt for even feeling it.  After all they had been thought together, all the trials and tribulations, how could she not believe in her best friend now when it mattered the most?  What Shimiko had done was undisputable bad but did that really make her a monster?

Ryuko knew monsters. They were people like Ken.  People that butchered entire countries for fun and profit.  People that killed the men, raped the woman and enslaved the children.  For all of Shimiko’s crimes she was nothing like those kinds of people.  If she was she never would have been able to reach out a hand and used it to save the Twins from the most dire of fates.

In some ways Ryuko sympatized her. Before her coma she had been desperately seeking power in order to be able to defeat Honiko.   Her quest had taken her along dark paths and she had even sought to become a jinchuriki which is something no sane person should ever wish for.

Given the way her own parents treated her as a pawn on a political board game, a piece to be moved around to gain more wealth and influence for the clan, she had to wonder what she would have done if she was in Shimiko’s shoes.  She hadn’t seen her parents in years and if she had known killing them would unlock an awesome new power inside her would she even have hesitated?

All Shimiko ever saw of her was the sunshine and the rainbows Ryuko worked hard to display and never the darker side that she strove the hide from those closest to her.  She was the priestess of a god of wisdom and war.  She’d just been focusing so much on the former that people sometimes tended to forget the latter and all the horrors that could bring.

She was a warrior but also the kind that was constantly thinking, her brilliant mind wandering in all sorts of directions, not all of which were nice.  One day she’d be dreaming about making a train to the stars and the next she’d envision a new type of bomb capable of wiping an entire city off the map in one strike.  

She’d long since lost count of horrific strategies she’d come up with in order to win a war should one come to her.   As a ninja almost nothing should have been off the table but despite that she’d locked several away in the depths of her heart praying she’d never have to use them.   Shimiko was someone who had killed a handful of people,  Ken had killed hundreds of thousands but Ryuko was the type who if it came down to it would kill millions to end a war and call it justice from having won it.   Who was the real monster here?

Even now she felt a strong impulse to go full crusade on these heathens. To take the Othodox Church of Jashin and burn the entire thing to the ground for what they had done.  She wanted to bring back the man who had committed suicide by Shimiko just so she could slap him in the face.    If she could she even wanted to go right up to Jashin himself and punch him right in his godly face.

It was funny how she had absolutely zero desire to lift a finger against Shimiko but her soul burned to take down the god her friend worshiped.   How one could slay a god of death was a philosophical debate she didn’t have the time, energy or inclination to engage in at the moment.  

The only reason she was even giving the church a second chance was because the twins had promised to help reform them into something better.  Something a bit less extreme.   She’d felt like she’d owed them and Shimiko at least that much.  It would be going back on her word now if she were to rescind that chance for actions taken before she had even offered it.

Instead she shoved all those dark feelings to the side and off a cliff, biting her lips as she tried to focus on one and only one objective. How to save Shimiko from herself and stop her from self-destructing.    Sometimes though even super intelligence had no good answers and her brain whirled on overdrive coming up with one bad solution after another.


“The most merciful thing you can do now is end her, she’s beyond saving. Spare her and you’ll never be together with Nozomi again.”  whispered a voice in her ear that sounded suspiciously like Rafaela .    That couldn’t be the right answer, doing that would bring salvation to nobody and ruin to her own soul.

Neither could she run away.  If she picked nither of them things would only end in further tragedy as the woman would be spurned by her last true friend, leaving her to descend further into the darkness.

While Ryuko was paralized unable to decide, Seigi had it together making his move.  He’d been told to run but refused, rushing over to Shimiko’s side and embracing her like a good brother should.  Leave it to him to steal the juiciest line saying that he would stay at her side even if it killed him but was that the correct answer.

Right now Ryuko had almost zero sense of self preservation.  As far as she was concerned this was already her second chance at life and she’d already died at least once even if not literally.   She still had her dream of improving the country and maybe in the long term the world but what did any of that matter if she couldn’t even help her closest friend?  

Copying Seigi and saying a cool line like she’d stick by Shimiko’s side even if it killed her sounded cool but would that be enough?  She refused to fight but if she simply stood by and Shimiko killed her would that really lead her down the road of salvation?  She had the feeling that would be nothing more than throwing her life away.

“Sakata was as ever shortsighted.  The man wouldn’t know what a good deal he had even if tis bit him” remarked Ryuko with a sneer.  In a way it was his fault they were even in this mess to begin with thanks to him shooting first.  The fact that he had left Shimiko behind rather than say by her side lowered his status in the priestess eyes to a person of very little worth.

“I already told you Shimiko, I can’t stop my love for you.  No Mortal nor God can change that.   I’ve seen your deeds now, both the ill and the good and you’re no monster. You’ve just been misguided by those that are.”  said Ryuko firmly.

After speaking to the Twins about reforming the church Ryuko had done some research and some digging and found an old book of Jashin in the archives that spoke of a religion that was vastly different then what the church of today practiced.   They used to teach never to inflict pain onto someone unless you had experienced that pain yourself.  They knew that those who had experienced that pain would never wish for someone else to experience it.  Somewhere along the way someone had taken the religion and twisted it for their nefarious ends.

“I am Ryuko Shizu Von Rose.   I free slaves and liberate cities,  I topple Dynasties and build nations.  Mine is the hand that fights corruption and twists fate.   My desire to make the world a better place is endless.  You ask me to choose, to which I say BOTH!”  she said, making a grandiose dramatic declaration that she was going to have her cake and eat it too.

“Attack me all you wish, I  will not sway nor will I lift a finger to fight you!  No matter how much anger you vent on me, I shall not fall.   I am the Shield of Kumogakure and you’ll find that I’m rather sturdy” she the Priestess with a cheeky grin.

She didn’t have her full equipment, nor her armor but she knew that Shimiko wouldn’t have the heart to continually strike her  full power if she didn’t try and strike back.  With The Power of Rafaela she could block at least one strike and she could regenerate from severe damage several times before she ran out of chakra even if she had to burn more of her cosmos to do so it would be a small price to pay to rid Shimiko of the darkness infesting her.

Holding up her hands as if praying Ryuko began to sing once more.  The last one had a strong resonance with their past being a repeat she had sung once before but this was a different song, a different tune,  a rhapsody  to bring Shimiko back to normal once more.


[15]

Shimiko waited for Ryuko to lunge at her. For Seigi to attack her for being just as evil as the enemies they had slayed together. When her brother moved towards her, she put up her hands defensively. Even as he hurtled towards her, she couldn't bring herself to open his throat the way she would anyone else. However, when he embraced her in spite of the aura of electricity dancing around her, she was stunned. Shimiko cut off the technique but before she could it had already seared his chest and burned his arms. She stood still as he embraced her for all her acts of evil.

"You...." she was at a loss for words.

"I don't care what you've done in the past, Shimiko. You're my sister. You're the only family I have left. I'm not leaving your side. Even if it kills me."

When she saw the tears streaming down his face, Shimiko was moved. She had never seen Seigi cry like this before. The brother she knew was always so calm. Caring but never one to show excess emotion. Even this Seigi from another world was just as disciplined and sturdy in his emotions. He had cast that all aside. This was how he truly felt and no amount of violence would change that. She had expected him to abandon her once she had told him the truth, but instead he was willing to commit suicide just to stand by her side. Shimiko deactivated her Ketsurygan unable to do the one thing she had relied on to cope with the anguish she felt. Shimiko returned Seigi's hug and held him tight. But even in this moment of awe-inspiring beauty, the Jashinist was still tormented by her guardian, savior, and demon.



K̷̡̨̢̭͖͍͎̬͓̹̀̀̉͗̍̍̾̈Ḭ̶̢̢̛̮͉̦͙̠̥̞̟͓̰͓͗̂̂͌͆̽̔̚͜L̵̳̙͋͊̒͊̆͐̂̆̀̚Ļ̵̡̠͕̰͈̟̰͍̟̑̚͜ ̴̫̮͓͇͕̺͕͌̔̎͒̔̄͗̕͝T̸̙͕̭̳̬̪͉̈͆́̇͐̿͆́͑H̵̨̱̤̻̤̩͓̣͙͎͚̺͓̩̀̂̀̓̈́̕̕Ę̸̳̩͎̗̖̮̼̐́̔̒̓͊̽̾̇͛M̶̢̢̤̪̝̘̣̞̠̲͆̈́̃.̸̢͕̹̖̱̞̓́̃̄ ̴̜̖͔͕̈́̊̽̍̋̅́͋̀̌̍̀̀̑͝Y̵̛̝̼̘̖̙͉̯͖͍̽̃̎̽̃̉̈́̆͑͊̍̈́̔̕O̸̘̯̖̹͓̝̦̽̈̈̔͠Ư̵̖̭̝͚͉̭̰͎̪̔̃̒̓̆̈́͛̾ ̷͔̭̖̼͖͙͉̋͋̊Ǧ̵̘̗̇̃̌̓̒̐̾̀̈̓̈́̾̇̾R̶̖̣͑͂͝Ỏ̶͍̬͔̠̬̰̈́̐W̶̫̹͓̳̎̊̓͋͗̓͆͑ ̶̘̆͐̄̉͗̒S̴̼̟͔̟̋͆͗͆̇͘͜Ǫ̴̻͇͙̗̤̆̏̾F̸̧̢͕̗̖̤͉̩̲̣͕̟̽͑̊ͅT̶͈͖̳̜͍̭̠̜̜̱̱̀̈́́̌̐̈́̏̔̅̔̍̚̕͝ͅ ̷̞̹̳̣͌͑̋̌G̴̞͔̲̀̇̌̐̓͐̿̕̚İ̵̡̤̺͍͎̖͎̝͓͑̂͂̂̅͒͂̎͛̇͝R̵̻̮͈̙̺̘̻̺͓̣̲͐͑̈́̂̾͝L̵̟̲͔̤͍̏̾͋̃͠͠.̶̧̛̫̱̻̹̭͒̐̌̽͗̀͆͊͐̕͘͜͝͠ ̷͕̭͈̫̟̣̹̜̙̙͑̂͂̔̽Ṡ̷̡̰͙̻̆̀̀͌͆̈̋̕H̵̛̘̑́̆̓̓̾̑̈́̈́̉O̸̢̧̡͚͕͕̝͍͇͖̝͗̂̌ͅW̷̢̻̬͔͕̗̬̞̬̟̲̬̼̎͜ ̷̖̲͔͊͆̔̇͌͂͆͛̃̋͛̀͠Ǫ̸̡͓͓͍̹̱̤̳͈͎̦̦̝̓̉̄̈́̏͋̍̌̅͜͠͠U̶̦̳͑̓͋̀R̷̤̘͓̄ ̷̨̧̛̥̣̫͓͇̼̹͓̒̓̋̈̆̎͌̌̈́̀̀͝͝L̴͉̼̯͙̖̣͚͈͑͆͋͌́̽̾̂̑̌̆͜ͅƠ̵̢̨̼̼̹͔͉͉̪̭̹͓̙͎̈̀͂͆́̄̎̀̀͠R̴͔͚̙̺̣̰̣̿D̶̡̡̛̟̩̘̲̝͓̝̤̯̙̪̻̲̈̀́̑͒̏̉͂̅̇͛̋͘ ̷̡̘͈̠̹̣͈̀̈́̆͛̊W̸̱̝̫̣̫͕̱̉̔H̵͓͚̪͗̒́̃͋̌̎́̐͊̾̌̚͜͝͝Y̴̡̡̜̥͍̣͎̰̣̬̹͓̰͐̆͛̄͂̈͐͐͂̈̅̄́͘̚͜ ̸̧͔̳̝͕̪̥̑̉̈́͜Ḩ̶̡̧̢̬͈͇̱̭̳̗̫̪̓̊̓̽̄͊̓͘͠ͅË̸̜̘̙͇͈̘̜͉̱͉̱̮́̊̃͛̓̔̃͝ͅ ̵̧̗̂̅̇̓̿͊̆̈́̔́̅̉͌͠͝C̷̫͇͓̫̜̑̉̄̾̋̽̀̿͘͠H̸̢̢̟͖̜̉͛͐͂̈́́̽̄̈́̆̒̕͜͝O̸̢̠̳̜̞̞̰̰̳͙̎̂̈́̌́͐́͗̓̓̇̿̚͘S̶̨̫͖̥̺̞̗͇̬̰̏̇͋͛͌́͊̓̆͛̽Ȩ̸͖̣̬̟̼̗̗̟̀̂̀̿͂̆̆̕͜͜ͅ ̶͖͚͔̓̂̑͜Ẏ̴͈͓͇̰̳̗̩̜̦̠͈̖̂̃̄̉̉̾̉̅̋̽̌̕̕͘͜Ơ̵̘͔̲̭̭̻̠̤͇͗̃̍̆̎̊͒͋̓̚͘͜͝Ú̴͎͉̹̉̽̅͒̃̋̀̇̐͗̚̚͝ ̴̖̯̬̻̭̩̦̻̃̃A̸͍̚͠S̵̨̛̠̥̩̥̱̺̰̮̹̬͚͇͐̿̂̅̈́̂͒̂͑̍͘͠͝ͅ ̴̗͈͍̙̮͋͛͋̈́̈́̅͂̊̂̏͌̎̾̚Ö̶͔̺͚̪̲͕͎̹́̀͗U̶̙͚̟͎̭͔̣̾̔̉̈͂̍̒͗̋̕͠ͅR̴̥̯̗͍̙̎͊͛̓̏̕͜ ̴̹́̆̽̈̌C̵̨̬̜̣̟͈̬̗̞̱͎̮̞̓̃̽̽͂̈́͂̂͘̕H̴͙̯̻͉̝̟̠̰̠͓̬͖̺̓͐͛̏̊̈́̍̊̿́̈̈́̕ͅÀ̸̢̧͇̙̈́͠M̶̝̟̱̩̱͓͇͓̂͛̓́̈́̾͠Ṕ̷̡̣̺̝̪̦̤̄̇̈́̐̿̋̿̔͜͠͝Ȉ̵̥̩̝́̍̏͛͐̓̐̒̌̃͂͛͘͘Ó̴̢͚͓̳̯̫̊N̸͇̏̉



Ryuko added to Seigi's chorus of forgiveness and unconditional love. She declared that despite all the evil she had witnessed she'd still support Shimiko. It was all too much and with every word, the Necrossiah's push grew more incessant. She was practically squeezing the life out of Seigi which was quite shocking given her lackluster strength. It was as if she was holding onto her older brother for dear life. Ryuko refused to choose between her sister and the love of her life. She was committed to this path and she would break past any barrier that stood in her way. Shimiko didn't want to hurt her friend. She didn't want to attack Ryuko until one of them died but no matter how tight she held Seigi, she could feel her spirit wavering. There was an itch to fight the woman who declared she would bend to no will, not even Jashin's. The Necrossiah took that as a direct challenge and urged Shimiko to act with ruthless aggression.




S̷̨̡̙͔͍̼̪̜̃̐̈͌̅͆̇͂̍̋̈́h̶̨̡̗̘̰͉̾̄̍̌͊́͜ͅͅe̴̛̛̤̖̝͍̗̐̉͆͒̇̃͌́̔̆̕̚͘ ̴̨̡̛̼̟̝̮̤̭̟̻̫͖̂̅̒̍͗͐͐̅̚͜͝͝c̸͇̦͎̪̈́h̴̘̗͙͎͒̌͌̐̒͝͝ã̶̢̨̛̹͙͚͇̳͚̥͈͈̝̤͎̈̈̈́̅͋̄̊l̴̛̬̉͛̒̒͛̑͛̏̒̂̕͠͠͝ļ̶̡͚͈̟͓̣̞̓̀̚ͅȩ̵̧̳̥̯̥͉̤̔͐́̍͑̚͝ņ̵̘̜̤̙͙̣̟̼͚̬̇̓̀̓͝g̶̟̗̰̠͖͍͖̱͚̟͒̎͊̚e̷̙̙͐̽̓̄́́̍̀̋̕̚͝ś̶̥̼͚͎̅̿͊̐̒͋͂͆̾͗̉̀̐̾ ̸̡̺̭̺̤̱̟͕͚͖̖͖̔̉̊̂̎͌͐̌́͑y̵̨͎̩͈͇̌͊̊̔̿̑͂̈̈́͘͜ö̸̪͈͖̝̰̺̳̟͈̩̜̟͍́͂̐̅͌̈́ͅų̶̣̘̥̘̝͍̹͛́̑̈͂́͊͝͝.̶̺̝̘̯̬͎̜͛̎̀͘͜ ̵̨̬̜̜̘̩̇͂̒͜ͅS̷̺̫̓̎͋͗̈́̐̀̂̒̚͘̕h̵̛̘̣͖̻͚̖͍̙͒̃̆͌̕̕͜ḙ̶̝͈̤̬͔̲͓̅̃̀̋̾̀͜ ̵̢̧̟̼͑̀̆̓̏̈́͘͠s̵̖͉̩̠̳̤͂̔̅̋̽̊̈́̋̋̓́͋̍̕͝a̵̢̗̼̝̼̣̫̫̩͑̍́͑̍̉̏̄͊͋͝͝y̴̦̺̥͋͛̐̉̆̾̔͌̾̔͐͒͘ş̸̞̬̦̼̬̙́̆̈̈́̉̄̌̈̋͐̌͝ ̴̦͇̪̠͙̱̦̰̙̔̒̓̓̇̎̚ͅͅh̷̡̛̲̙̠̥̜̼̞͉͂̅̇̈́̓́͝ȩ̴̟̻̝̳͚̫͔͕͇͎̹̂͌̿̎ŗ̸̧̣̪̯̤̀̑͒̔̔̅̓͑͋͌͒̍̚͝ ̴̧̻̪̭̝̟̬̀̐͂̂̎̽̔͆̾͒͑̑͘͝ş̴̧͙͕̳̼̱̭̩̗̹̤̳̃̈́͜ḧ̵̡̳͙͔͙̼̻̹͚͇͈͓̞̝́͐͝͠i̸̡̼̮̠̤̘̖̭͙̰͔̺͖̠͊̾̉́̍͝ͅë̴̢̜̤͕̩̝̹̜̯́̑ͅḷ̵̝̟̘̗̅̂̀̃̽̚͠͝͠d̴̯̺̮̘̠̾͛̾̅ ̵̘̳̝̰̗͍̮̫͗͘͜͠ẃ̴͖̳̲͍̩͎͖̞̜̥̼̘͓͚͊̈́͊͐͊̊͌͒̋̀̏́͝į̶̧̛̳̱͉͎͔̜̜̻̰̹̓͆͒͘͜l̵̙̿̅̈͊̓͌͑̃́̉̄̿͘͠l̸̠͚̬͈̗̬̝̯̬̥͉̘̘̄͐̋̕ ̷̛̗̜̪̬̈́͋̏͛̎͆́͘͘n̸͈̺̘͎̻͇͚̭͚̖̞̏̋e̶̞̭̠͉̱̫̰͇͈̊̒̐͜v̶͕͇͔̖͙͚͇̜̖̈́̃̑͗̈́̎ę̸͕͉͓̰̦̻͙̣̖̫̑̽͗̄͝ŕ̴̹̺̎̅̓̅͝ ̴̛̝͕͕͊̈́͒̌͑̃͒̈́̍̇̇͆f̸̻̠̝͓͓̳̃͗̄̾̐ͅȁ̸͓͉̪̺͎͔̦͚̏́͗̑͝ḻ̴̉̆̊̓͒̅͗̔̈́̓͠t̶̻̄̃́́̽̾̽͑͌̀̓̎̎̕͠ȇ̴̹̻̜̯̱̜̩̭͇̍͆͐̅̀̇̔̍̿̿͆͝͠ͅr̸̨̛̛̻͖̫̮̹͈̹͌̾͛͊̂͋͌͌̐̈́̚ ̷̧͓͕̹̲̗̪̻̘̪̹̤̈́̀̑̎̾̈́͆̽̎̂̍̏ͅa̷̺̟̜̳̠̯̖͇̰͕͙͙̱̎̍͛̍̈̄̂͋̓̈́͒̊̈́̕̚ͅḡ̵̢̍̓̆̇͑̊͘͝a̷̭̱̲̬̜͉̪̠̫͂̽̉̋̏̆̋̈́̽̂̕i̶̛̩͉͐̊̍͆̃̊̀̍̍̌̐͠͝͝n̵̨̛͍͎͇̝̹̣̯͖̰͖̘̼̒̅̒͐̿̽́́͊̊͝s̶̥͖̘̹̥͓̻̗͍͙̥̗̐̅͛̔̆̋͆͗͝t̸̖̝̣̫͚̫̟̋̀̓̐̑̀ͅ ̸̧̺̣͎͕̬͈̗͖̭̠͙̌́̄̔̎̅̆̊͐́̑͆͆̈ỵ̶͚̯͕̠̈́̾̓̍̐̀͊̀͛́̄́͝͠ǫ̵̻̣̖͍̝̮̙͖̦̤̲͙͙̔̈́̈̊̓̾̿̂̌͂͒͌̕ű̸̡̥̖̞̦̘̬͉̀̈́͆͊̾̿͆͂ŕ̸̺̫̠̦̩͖͙̘̒̋̎͐̉͗͊͋̀̍͜ ̴̨̡̛̻̳̩͚̪̥̣͔̰͔̭̍̐͐̀̏̔̾̈́̀͜͝b̶̟͗͒͆̒̈́̿͛͋̓l̴̢̛̩̙̯͙̳͙͚̰̺̬̯̽͆̉̏̎̀̃̓͆͊̽͘͘͝ạ̴͂͑̔̋͋̅̂̆̎ḑ̶̞̤͙͋̋̓̈́͒͗͗̈̏̒̕͝͝è̵̛̝̰̳͂̀͗̈̿̈́̍̈́͛.̴̯̬̭͙͙̘̣̲͔̠̫̦̪͊̈́̿̽͜ͅ ̷̨̛̯̥̯̜̗̞͋̓̏̉͌̈́̓̈́̾̎̋̇̓͝S̴̯̤͚̟̞̓̾̊̐̈́̋͛̌͊͊͠ḩ̴̺̮̜̰̮͇͎̯̝̱͍̿̑̎̿́͌̄̈́̌̓͊̚̕o̴̡͐̊̈́͆̓ẁ̸̡͔̳̦̙̬̭̼̘̙͍̰̥͂̄͂͌̈͐̐͂̀́̒́̕͘ ̶̞̝̪̻̘͉̩̗̩̳̗͍̻̑͊͋͜ţ̵̲͔̱͕͉͗̄̉̔̌̅͑̎͂͌̿̾͘͠h̵̩̤̲̦̍̈́́͗͗̈ȩ̶͚̭͕̩̟̮̙̔͑ ̷̡̨̛̫̱̺͕͔͎̙͉̹͖̮̜͚̈́̑̏͌͒͋͐̄́̓̈͠͠ḩ̸͙͔͉͙̐̑̍̅̌̎̿̈́̄͜͝é̷̛̮̖̹̻̳̪̤̦̫̹̝͉̥͆̀̿͊͐̏̍͒̓͂͗̈́̒r̴͙̣͗̍͌͐̈́͒͂̓́̓̚͘͠͝ ̴̧͎̦̝̙͚̰̦̳̦̆̊̓͂͊̑́̒̌ͅṭ̴̱̺̥̳̤͋͊̆̿̓̒̌̒̒͂̋̑̿̚͝h̶̢̹̥̱͓͚̭͎͚̯̾͂͌̌̇́͊̃̎̔́͌͝͠ͅę̵͖͓͔͙̺̳̱͍͚͙̫͖͆̀̈́̈́̉͘͜ͅ ̸̨̛͕̻̝̫͖̓̂́͛͐̋́̍͗̓̾́̕m̸͙͙̦̱̲̤̮̻̝̆̂̿̍͊̎̿i̵̧̝͕̙͎͙̗͍̞͙̬͙̗̬̐́͑ͅg̶̨̧̛̼͚͠h̴͚͓̰͔̪͚͓̞̻̑̌̀́͂̅t̵̨̢̯̤̜̱͕͈͎̥̪̪́͑͂͒̈́̓͂͑͐͐̂̃̚͜͝ͅ ̶̛̱̈́̇̇̈̿̀̚͘͝ő̴̞̙̤̖̯̺͇̋̒̓̐͠͝ͅf̸̛̺̙̻͉̻̓̌̀ ̶̡̪̩̫̼̖̮̟̥̩̫̋̈́̓͌̋̒̓̿̈́J̵̻͔̦̖͓̐̓́͗̀̉͐̔̇̐͆̕a̴̡̧̖̤̳̫͕̫̫̽̏́͂͑͋̓̾͊̕͝s̸̡̫̭̝̤̔͋͐͌͋̌̑̑̑͌́̀h̶̛̛͕͍͈͂̈̍̏̌̑̊̈͒̕͝ḯ̵̢̫͎̓̈́̎̃̋͛̅̈́̍̈́ņ̶͈͕̝͍̫͖͖̩̀̉͘͠.̵̩͔̲̯̩͙̏́͌̓̓͗͐͗̿͒ ̶̡̘̯̳̖͓̹͚̩̯̃̾̋̐̀̽̕͘͜Ç̶̤̟̾̇̀́́̓̅̈́͑̍͘u̷̧͙̟̟̪̹̺̹͎͈̲͋́̏̔̆̈͐̾́͂͠͝͝t̸̨̨̨̖̪̻̟̗̦̣̝̙̠͂͗͋ ̸̙̜͐̃̐͘h̷̨̹̜̤̮̥̺̯̟͖̅̉̀̊͛́̿̽e̵̫̘̺͚͔̗̟̞͌̓̇̔͜ͅͅr̴̛̖͖̱̼̠̗͔̫̞͖̘̱̦̈́͊̑͜ ̸̢̛̳͎̯̤͎̣͙͚͍̜͎̰͌̽̈́̎̄͑̇̂͝ď̸͔̭̞̘̣̠̦̥͚̖͍̹͔͖͍̌̄̐́̇̈́̕͝͝͝ǫ̷̲̾̓ẘ̸̢̤̝̲͙͔̤̘̞n̵̦̺͇͇̳͓̉͝.̶̧̪̩̤̬̪̱̦̖̥͔́̐̂̆͘ ̸̬̤̤̹̋̇̔̌̂́̓̀̔̊̽̈́͊̆͝T̷̡͇̺̫͖̯̣͇̲͔̾̈́h̶̛̰̳͇̩̫̬̮̞̘̽̌͛̍͒̒͝ę̷̡͙̱̜̖̰͙̦̩̞̹̾̓̃̃̅̈́r̴͙̻̖͔͙͖̦͌̑͜͝ȩ̵̰̣͔̩̩̟̪͙̯̟̏͠ ̶̧̧͖̟͎̫͍̙͕͚̗̳͙̣̩̐̅͌̽͆̔̅̔i̶̢̠̫͈͓̅͋̿̆̓͝ͅs̸̛̛̳̑̓̊̀̚͝ ̸̢̥̝̮̯̝͍̼̟͕͈͚̮͐̍̽̅͂͝n̸͎̭͔̈́͊̽̂̒̓̅͌̅ò̴͚͔̯̯̮̱̥̤̬̈͌̋̏͆͂́͜͜ ̸̨̳̺̹͓͓͓̬̠̻̞͚̘̱̰́̽̑̅̂̏́̂͒͠͠o̶̟̻̰̭̘̳̙͇̳̯̲͚̟͛̑͠t̸̢̘̗̬͇̜͉̞̻͍̙̔̐̆͜ḩ̸̩̹̮̝̼͖̞͕̦̇͗͋̃̚̚e̷͚̻̘͐̑̀͊͜͠r̷̨̛̲̪̮̰̱̗̩͕̮̰̱͍͐̂̊̈́̚ ̸̢͉̫͓͉̤̻̹̺̞̃̓͋͛̀̍̃̔̿̽̋h̵̨̡̺̫̬̗̼̗̠̱̖̞͉́̓̍̂͑̇̆͌͆͜͠ǒ̸̬͉̼̖̜͍̝̙̀͊̌̾p̴̧͇̝̮̤̲̰͇̭͙͙͇̪̗̟̏͆̆̑e̵̻͙̥͑́̔̍̋̎̓̽̑̾͝ ̷̰̎̐͐̕f̴̯̖̲͈͍̮̳̠̰̰̲͓̦̗̅̎́̂͌o̵͈͆͗̏̋̒̏̃̌̂̍̂̒͠r̶͙̹̭͓̝̣̜̋̏͊͊͘ͅ ̶̨̨͈͕̳̜͇͇̦͇̝̘̌t̸̢̨̛͖̺̥̩̬̠̘͔̑̏̍̑͊̔͂̑̂͜͝ȟ̶̘̤̜͖̳͕̺̪̈́e̸̤̤̭̳̤̫͇͙̮͚̯̤̝̝̐̋̆̋̊̈̃̎̆̾̽͠͠ ̷̧̥̭̬͕̰̞̺̳̱͉͇̫̓̈̆͑̒́̓͌̍̔̂̉̂̕C̴̡͚͈̗͕̟̪̟͔͉̱͓̬̋͑̿̿̊h̶̡̼͙͙̻͎̩̘͉̯́̀́̅́͗͛̓͒̍͝ų̷̱̣̝̖̳̣̪͚̲͈̣̣͔̾͒̊̈̃̎̆͊͆̀̌̂̑̕̕r̶̡̢̨̳̤̱͖̎̐͘̚͜c̴̡̤̭͚͓̼̻̭̹̰͓̫̤͈̀͒͐̂̈́̒͑̐̈́̋̏ͅh̴̹̔̌̃͐͛̎̇̂̅͋̂̓͒̚ͅͅ.̶̢͗̅͌̂̒̈́͛͌͘̕͝͝ ̷̢̬̹͕͇̻̭̂̔̈́͗̏̒̈́́̄͗̇̕͘͝͠Ỹ̴̧̡̡̧̟̭̪̤̦̹̬̂͗̎͋̅̌̓́͊̆́͑͑͝ô̶̜̬̳̰͎͉̞̹͍̹̓̽̈́̄̓͌́̆͛̈́͌̒͜ͅṳ̶̃̆ ̸̡̛̲̗͎̱͖̘̉̆͛͌̄̑̀̍̍̒̓͝m̶̮̩͔͕͇̮̘͚̮͐̈́̐͠ư̷̮̤̑͌͒͐͊͌̾̐̑̚ş̴̩̠͍̼͉̥̟̭͙̓̊̈̐̅̀̔͆͒̿̐͘͜ť̵̥̠̮̬̥̙̯̬͈̬̱̓̀̓͆̀̓͐̀̉̆̈́̐̕͜͜͜ͅ ̸̛̻̞̼̯͚͔̱̟̬͉̩̓͗̉̉̾̈͋̓̈́̊̌͝͠ͅṙ̵̯͓̳̘̬̳͇͑̉͐͠ͅe̶̼̹̥̜̿̓̽́̃̎̈́̄̎̀̈́̚͝m̶͙̠͈͇͚͎̹̀̋̊̉̋̾̽͊̔o̴̢̞͚̦͇̫͕̣̥͑͑̚͜͜ͅv̷̡̜̳̐̃͌̂́̔͝e̶͉̦̟̞̟̟̖͂́̈̄̔͗̃̌̈́̚̚͠ ̵̻̤͍͓̣̜̪͉̫͕̀̔̍̓̃̎͛͝͝ṯ̵͉̬͋̏͆̅h̶̨̧̤̙͇̰̳̺̲̯̫̱̕͘i̸̧̙̣̙̲̹͐̽͋̒͌̿̓͗̿̓̀́͜͜͝͠s̵̛̺͒̎͐̏̓̅́͆͝ ̴̢̧̨̯͇͋͐͠h̶̼̻͙͇̦̻͖̠͚̻̑̀̏͛̀̀̈́̌͊̔͂͠ͅé̸̼̩͎̼̟̻̭͕̰̞̖̲͓̓͛͑̀͜ă̷̢̰̼̹̭͉̼̞̣͈̻̰̖̄͌́͛̄̾̎̓̓̑̉͊̈́̕͜t̶̤͉̪͖̞͓̫͓̾̿͒͗͆̃͆̃̑̌͠ͅh̵̩͍̠̺͕̝̟̫̩̜͌̒̂̔́̔̈́̄̏̀̋̈́͌̚͘ȇ̸̼̠̠̹̓̍̈́̍̚̚͝n̶͎͓͈̘͚̬̗̊̄́̽ ̸̩͉͑̅̊̀̋̅̋̆͋͐f̴̲̗͍̩̉̄͛̃̅̈́̒͊̈́͐̽̊̆̕͠r̴͖̊̀̏̎̓̌͗̀̄̕͘o̷̖̺̗̪͆͑̍̓m̸̟̮̠̬͇̜͔̫̊͂̂̓̓̾͆̀͋̀̈́̓̽͊ ̸̨̠͗̑͊ţ̸͓̰̭͚̯̩̠̰̖̼̩̘́́̇͛̉͌̆̌̕̕̕͜͜͝h̷̛͓͎̣̩̞́̾̆̈́̎͗͛̓́̈͝͝e̸̢̨͎̹͙̲͈̯̎ ̸̨̹͚̭̘̙̣̝͕͈̘̖̺̝̀H̴̖̞̉͝ǫ̷̜̠͍̮͉̗̮̍͊̇͆l̵̳̲̖̳͉͚̓̿̒̓̔͗͌̕y̶͍̗̣̯̓̇͋ ̵̛͓͖̞͇̠̳̰̗̄͑̍̓̆̄̇̕L̸̢̧̮̖̫̝͓͕̫͈̑̇̽̀̄̃̿̅̽͊̃͜͝͝ͅa̸̧̛̛̘̖͓̠͇̘̲̅̈̊̈̉́̀̇̉̽́̀͝ņ̷̧͍̘͖̥̠͕̤̱͗̀̓̀̀̕͜͜ͅḑ̶̹̮̫͙̹̞̲̝̭̟͎̭̀̈́͆́̄̀̌̾̚.̶̙̝̦̜̤̬̬͖͔̯̜̅ͅ ̶̨̝͇̖͈̫̺̳́͆̽̐͆͑͌̊
No
K̷̞̯̬̳͖̫̮̝͊ͅḬ̴̰̘̀̈́͊͊̃̀͛̅̉͑͋̑̃͝ͅL̵̠̘̫͙̮̜͍̼͇̺̫̬̉͊͘ͅͅḶ̸͕̝̪̯̭̔̓̐̀̈̏́͐̓̽͊̚͜͝ͅ ̵̢̨̨̘̻̭̗̣̖̥̩̜̦̲̦̽̑͐͘̕̚H̵̨̨̛̝͓̙̯̯̥̙̹̰͍͜͝Ë̴̡̘̫͎̪͍̮̟͇̺̗͔́͌̈̑̿͂̓̈́̾͛̚̚͠R̴̡̪̳̪̝̞̺̙͖̞͑̎̃͂͗̐̋̍͗̈́̑!̵̢͚̣̣͉̹͇̭̻͔̱̰̳̟̍̄̀́̉͊̽̉̃̋̊̚͜͝
̴̛̻̲̮̖̮͖̩̹͕̟̬̍̑́̋͆͆͑̽̊̉̂͘̕K̷̘͕̘͔͙̬͈̳͓̰̪̤͌I̸̢͉̭̹̎̔̌̋͒͑̆̅́̽̔́́L̸̲̲̙̎͑͂̈́̉̉̑̇̓̉͒L̸̢͙̩̣̥͖͕̳̣͋̅͜͠ͅ ̵̹̝̺͇̬̲̼̱̘̠̅̑͘ͅͅH̷̰̗̭͌̑̈̐̀͝Ȩ̵̦̫́̈́͘̚͘R̶͕̜͂̎̾̅͑͑̉!̸̧̬͇̪͎͎͍̎͊̃̕̚
̷̧̯͈̣̗͇̗̪̖̺͈̼̯͒͆̃̃̽̂̀͋͒̊̊͛̇̚͘͜K̴̛͔̗̗̮̥͇̦̪̫̦̳̑́̒̋͐̂̾̕͘̚I̵̞͎̹̥̠̔͜L̸̡̢̛̬̼̙̳͉̯̺̤͉̘̓̾͂̃̎̎̉̅͜͜͝L̸̢̛̹̝̖̫͖͙̱̬̞͔͑̒̿͛̔̈̀̿̏͘ ̴͙̄͑́̿Ḩ̷̻͇̞̠̙̞̥͔̮̦͊̎́È̵̹̫̺̖̟̫̰̯͚͍̄R̸͍̙̀̎̾̈̓̋͑̌͒͌͗͘͝!̵̩͇̤͖̺̤̩̭̟̔̓̌̓̏͘͜
NO!


NO!

Shimiko mentally screamed her defiance at the being she regarded as the savior of all mankind. Years ago it would have been an unthinkable act of blasphemy, but armed with the love from her family, she found the strength to defy the heavens itself.

You chose ME to be the champion of this Church! You chose ME to fight in Jashin's name! There is no other vessel of greater skill or loyalty! My family magnifies every article of faith in my soul, they are my source of power and I will never betray them! My blade has never been sharper....sharp enough to cut through the fear....they will do anything for me and I them. Lord Jashin sent you down to teach us....to guide us.....but know this, this generation of Jashinists is stronger than the one you knew. Our bonds with this country run deep, deep enough to not be broken by the fears of the ignorant. I will not break those bonds. I will nurture them and grow the Church in the image that Jashin intended and I will do it MY WAY!

It was an astonishing rebuke. It was said there was no spirit of Jashin wiser, more noble, and more in-tune with the deity than the Necrossiah. He was said to be Jashin made flesh, an aspect of the greater God and yet here she was defying his order. She knew that he could split her down to the atoms for her insolence but she didn't care. She would not hurt her family. Shimiko closed her eyes, expecting to be consumed by the very power she worshiped but instead, she felt peace. Quiet. As if the thoughts and commands to murder had been quelled by a far greater entity. One that dwarfed the Necrossiah himself. Shimiko breathed a sigh of relief.

Thank you Lord Jashin....

He had pulled the Necrossiah back which meant he saw what she saw. If the Orthodoxy were to truly thrive then they'd need to do that which so many other Jashinist cults had failed to do. They'd need to learn to love and forgive those who didn't share their faith. Shimiko was finally at peace in her brother's embrace. The song that Ryuko sang was like a life preserver that her mind clutched onto. The lyrics were beautiful and they reminded her of a simpler time. When the world didn't seem so chaotic and the only thing that mattered was spending time with her fellow Thundercats. When the ballad finally ended, she wasn't sure what to say. She slowly broke her hug with Seigi and turned to Ryuko.

She had expected the Raikage to condemn her. She expected to be thrown into prison or have to fight for her life and freedom. Ryuko had cast aside all those fears. The healing and reconciliation could now begin.  

"Ryuko...." With the rage inside of her quelled, Shimiko could finally articulate her thoughts clearly. "You're a stubborn bitch" she said with a light hearted laugh. She knew the uppercrust wasn't fond of foul language and nor was she, but she couldn't help but state matters bluntly. The statement was in a totally different context from the one in which she first thought it. Back then it was filled with venom and contempt. Now it was expressed with gratitude and love as odd as the word choice was. Unwilling to let her friend be offended she soon added. "....and I love you for it. You've seen the worst of me...you both have.....and you love me anyways." Shimiko could relate. She felt the same way about the Twins and now that she knew their loyalty was just as strong, she wouldn't even entertain the thought of fighting them over Nozomi. "I know you want to save Nozomi and I want to give you that chance but I can't let her jeopardize everything we've worked so hard to build...I'm going to trust you to redeem her, but we can't allow any half-measures. If she's going to flip then she has to go all the way. She has to give us everyone: Honiko, Raijin, Menza, and anyone else up the food chain. I don't want you and her having one foot in the door and one foot out. I'm going to give you the chance to see in her what you saw in me, but I won't risk you or the village. Promise me you won't let her talk you into whatever anti-village crusade she's been on for the past few years....oh and uh, please heal my brother "

Shimiko stepped aside. Seigi's arms and chest were looking pretty raw as a result of the lighting aura. It made her feel guilty but she knew if she apologized, he'd only admonish her. She gave her brother a warm smile.

"Thanks Seigi....I...I never got to tell you how mixed up things were for me. I didn't think I'd ever get the chance after...you know. But I'm glad your with me to the end. I love you."

The shocking stopped, but Shimiko's grip grew stronger, and she hugged him harder than he had ever been hugged in his life, before quickly settling her strength. Ryuko's declaration, mixed with her singing, seamed to calm Shimiko until her rage quelled, her strength waned and she let go of Seigi. With a sigh, he would smile, weakly holding himself up but quickly recovering. Shimiko would address Ryuko before turning back to him, thanking him.

"It's... okay. I promise." He would tell his sister, smiling at her warmly. "In a way, I kind of already knew. Big brother senses." He would joke, play punching her.

"I love you too, kiddo. I'm proud of you. Always have been."

He would wave his hand to Ryuko, shaking his head.

"It's okay, I got this." Focusing his chakra inward, he would mold it into his muscles, feeling the warmth of energy spread throughout his entire body, taking the muscles and building them up, healing the wounds Seigi received. His body would seem to flex temporarily, becoming more defined as the wounds healed, only to quickly recede.

"Good as new." He would say, holding up his thumb.

Used Body Revival Technique

The tension in the air was so thick it was almost hard to breath as the songstress finished her latest tune and waited to see the results. She felt her heart hammering a mile a minute in her chest with each passing second feeling like an eternity. If her efforts to desolate the situation failed and Shimiko attacked her things would be very dicey.

Her declaration that she wouldn’t fall wasn’t some empty bravado since she had the strength to back it up but it was a bluff all the same. If Shimiko came at her in her rage then Ryuko might be able to fend her off to an extent if she put everything she had into defence, but it would be anything but easy given the fact that she had disarmed herself.

She didn’t want to ever have to try and strike Shimiko seriously but if her friend attacked her things would never be the same between them again. Worst case scenario even if she didn’t try and hurt Shimiko a fight between them would attract a lot of attention and either someone else would get caught up in the chaos and hurt or someone else powerful enough to have a say in things like Sied would intervene and put a violent end to things.

Thankfully that nightmare never came to pass. Seeing the calm way that Shimiko broke the hug with her brother and turned to her Ryuko knew the storm had passed and things had returned to normal at last, or at least as normal as it was going to get now that Shimiko had revealed the truth about her past misdeeds and been forgiven for them.

“I’ve been called worse,” said Ryuko lightly. If just about anyone else had called her that word she likely would have at least slapped them for the insult It was bad enough using that kind of lounge to a commoner but saying it to a distinguished member of the peerage like herself was doubly bad since she prided herself on her manners. This time she let it slide because one it was Shimiko who was like a sister to her and she loved so dearly, and two because she could tell by the tone that no harm had been meant by the comment.

She listened as Shimiko gave her conditions for allowing her a shot at saving Nozomi. On one hand she was relieved that her friend was finally no longer hell bent on murdering her crush but on the other her demands to give Nozomi a shot were pretty strict. Ryuko was racking her brain to come up with the best possible response when the power that was flowing through her rapidly began to fizzle out.

Her hair cycling between blond and it’s natural color and back to blond again as she struggled in vain to keep a hold of the celestial energy she had been granted and keep herself in an overclocked state. Rafaela had warned her that it’d be unstable and now the relief she’d felt at the crisis being averted was causing it to rapidly slip away from her when she needed it the most.

Honestly it was more than a minor miracle she’d held onto it for as long as she had since it could have given out at any time and she’d kept it going by sheer force of will. It wasn’t like she was a green lantern or something, everything had its limit including willpower and she was quickly reaching hers. More sweat poured down her forehead even as more of the power faded away and the intervals between blond and normal hair became further and further apart. It was almost as if the heaven’s themselves were telling her to stop relying on them for all the answers and to come up with her own the best she could.

With a sigh Ryuko finally unclenched her fist letting the last vestiges of the celestial power go. The time would come when she could use it at will once she had proven herself but for now she was determined to get by on her own power. Here she was going to become the next Raikage and a Queen of a country and she’d gotten there on her own merits not Rafaela’s. She already had everything she needed to see this through to her desired conclusion without having to lean on her god for assistance.

“Let’s start with the healing then we can talk.” she started to say only for Seigi to wave her off and do the job himself. Seeing this the priestess let out a low whistle. “Sealess healing huh? Pretty impressive.” She commented. As a medic she knew firsthand that type of thing wasn’t easy for just anyone to pull off.

Part of her wanted to examine him again just to be sure but she had the feeling he wouldn’t appreciate being babied like that and to be frank after everything that had happened she felt downright exhausted as she took a step back over to the chair she had been sitting at prior to the whole curfufufl and practically collapsed into it.


“You’re asking for a pretty tall order there Shi-chan. The Society is comparable to a major power in it’s own right equal to any one of the big five villages. I’m fairly certain the main reason they hadn’t done more damage to the villages in this war they have declared is due to the fact they are divided between factions that seek different goals.” Ryuko explained calmly.

“If it were say Kiri where we were dealing with instead would you ask the Mizukage to turn offer all of her Jounin? I’m sure she’d agree to turning over one or two that committed atrocities like Ken but expecting more then that would be unrealistic since we lack the edge we need to get an unconditional surrender. In order to forge peace sometimes concessions must be made.” she said with a sigh.

“Obviously I’ll try for the best deal I can get. I’d love to put Honiko and Raijin behind bars for their crimes but depending on the situation on hand at the time of negotiations I might have to settle for reparations. Ultimately as long as the threat to us is mitigated isn’t that enough?” asked Ryuko.

“I think that’s a pretty safe promise to make at least. I mean I’m going to be the Raikage that’s about as pro village as it gets. As long as we don’t start acting like Kiri and Kohana I’m not about to give up on the idea of village’s so easily. Well far from perfect they act as a stabilizing influence over the elemental nations. To be rid of them would be to go backwards to the era of endless clashing between clans. We need to be moving forward, not regressing.” said Ryuko. Her goal was to prove the society was wrong but building a better village not eliminating them.

[16]

Shimiko blushed when Seigi punched her in the shoulder and told her how proud he was of her. She had waited her whole life to hear those words. Ever since she was a kid, she had wanted to be acknowledged by him. She knew she'd never get it from her mother and father. They simply didn't approve and never would, but Seigi understood. He knew and most importantly he was greatest judge of skill she could ask for. When he passed away before she came into her maturity as a ninja, it cut her soul deeply. She had given up on the possibility of hearing those words from him. She had heard it from Nariko, Mora, the Twins, her friends, everyone and anyone but it just wasn't the same. It was because of Seigi that she had been able to become a shinobi in the first place and for that she'd be eternally grateful.

Shimiko watched in amazement as Seigi began to heal himself. He didn't need handseals or any fancy maneuvers. She'd only see the best of the best utilize Ijutsu like that.

"Wow..."

Shimiko never had the aptitude for medicine. In fact, when she was a genin she had vigorously rejected the concept. It was too close to being a nurse which was the dreaded profession that her parents had picked out for her. She had also seen it as weak to heal others. It was better to maim, cut, and kill than suture, sew, and heal. As she got older she reconsidered her position and Seigi's display made her realize just how wrong she was. Ijutsu is truly a gift from Jashin....

Shimiko turned her attention back to Ryuko. She had her terms and she had no intention on budging. Ryuko had won a stay on Nozomi's execution but that didn't mean the jinchurikki was off the hook. Shimiko had a death-grudge against the woman and she'd only let it go if Nozomi totally submitted to Ryuko and by extension Kumogakure. Despite her urge to have a kneejerk reaction, Shimiko listened patiently. She noticed that Ryuko was speaking from the heart now and not from whatever mystical intelligence had possessed her moments prior. The gold in her hair faded and she was now just regular Ryuko.

"Division is good. We can use that. I don't care how many factions of the Society there are. I want to kill them all. You want to save Nozomi and I'm willing to let you do that.....but I don't negotiate with terrorists and I won't accept anything less than an unconditional surrender. If she truly loves you, there's nothing she wouldn't give up to be with you."

It was a tense statement but it was how Shimiko genuinely felt. She was glad that Ryuko was willing to be her friend despite all the evil she had just witnessed Shimiko commit. However, that wouldn't erase the organization's sins. Unwilling to start another argument though, the blonde eventually added:

"You're smart and very persuasive. You'll figure it out Ryuko, I know you will!"

Shimiko gave Ryuko a thumbs up and a smile. She wasn't sure how, but she confident that when it came down to it, Ryuko could win Nozomi over for good. She wanted her friend to be happy even though she did not like the girl. She could not promise she'd ever want to be in the same room as her for an extended period of time, but she could promise that she'd give the Himitsu what Ryuko had given her. A chance to be free from her past demons and to be with the one person who truly loved her.

As Seigi's wounds healed, both Ryuko and Shimiko seemed to comment on his Ijusu prowess, to which he would chuckle.
"You pick up a few things when you're dead." He would joke, kind of. His burns would heal up nicely, the only evidence that a burn had been there was the lack of hair where it had been singed off.
On the subject of Shimiko's demands, Seigi wondered if Nozomi would agree to go that quietly and betray her comrades. Honestly, he doubted it would be that easy. He had never known someone with her level of power and influence to go gently and to turn tail so quickly. He anticipated a fight, but he would keep his mouth shut. These two seemed to know Nozomi much better than Seigi did, and he would trust their opinions on what to do and stay out of it. It wasn't his place.
The Society reminded him of his own time as a Missing-nin, when he also shared a similar philosophy. Years and years of a corrupt Kage, mixed with his old "mentor" subtly brainwashing him into the same thinking the same thing had given Seigi the mindset that the world really was better of without villages, but he saw what happened when power left unchecked ran rampant. It terrorized and it pillaged, like a menacing child.

"We believe in you." Seigi would say, reassuring Ryuko and taking Shimiko's side. Looking at his little sister, he didn't expect her to get on board with this in the slightest, but it seemed as if a bit more light shone from his sister's eyes than they did a few minutes ago.

“I bet you do.” remarked Ryuko with a light giggle.   Considering she had been all but dead herself spending two years in a coma she had come back with new tricks of her own.   It hadn’t been long since waking up before she found herself running the country in everything but name.  She wasn’t too surprised to hear that once he was freed from the responsibilities of paperwork that came with being a Kage  that Seigi had more time to pick up extra tricks.

Even now a part of her was regretting the decision to step up in such a major way since it took away options she might have had otherwise.   The idea of just abandoning everything and running away with Nozomi was incredibly appealing but she couldn’t do that now, not when so many people were depending on her.

Ryuko sighed when Shimiko said she wouldn’t negotiate with terrorists.  The line between that and someone fighting for freedom against an oppressive system was thin.  She couldn’t exactly confirm it but she was pretty sure that the society had at least one minor nation under their control which made them more than just some rouge cell but a legitimate power on the world stage.

“Tis precisely because they have such division that I stand any chance at all.  I doubt the more fanantical side would be as willing to listen to reason.”  said the priestess. Nozomi at least, she knew she could talk to.   Whomever the other person was hiding in the shadows not so much. He or she was just too much of a mystery.

“I’m flattered that you both believe in me, but we are in a more precarious situation right now then you might realize. Our relations with Kiri and Konoha are not what I would describe as great.   The only reason we’ve done as well as we have so far is they’ve generally been unstable but if they were ever to get their acts together and team up properly we could be in a real pinch.    Iwa is still recovering from regaining independence and Suna is too far away to be of much help so we can’t count on much assistance from either of them…”  

Ryuko explained the geopolitical situation they were in to help Shimiko and Seigi understand where she was coming from and why she was trying to accomplish.  It went well beyond simply hoping to find  a way to be together with Nozomi.   The fact was that was more of a happy bonus, icing on the cake rather than the main objective.


“Rather than surrender, we should seek the elimination of the more radical elements of the society and an alliance with the rest.  In the coming days Kumo will be in need of powerful companions.  If we play our cards right, Nozomi's branch of the society could be just what we’re looking for.   As a ninja you should be well aware of the fact that sometimes yesterday’s enemies can be today’s friends.”  

The fact that Ryuko had her own ideas about how to best seal that alliance was best left unsaid.  Shimiko was more than smart enough to know that the priestess was aiming at marriage between herself and Nozomi in order to seal the deal between the two organizations.  In a way she was aiming to have her cake and eat it too but it was a lot more realistic to accomplish then expecting Nozomi to turn on the entire Society in its entirety in order for her to be spared.

Glancing at Seigi she silently begged him with her eyes to back her up here. As a former kage himself he had to understand how complicated the politics could be.   The only reason they had a chance to turn Nozomi was because Ryuko had an in with her already.  The chance to have such a powerful piece on the board join their side was something they couldn’t afford to squander over an unrealistically high demand. Right now Shimiko was asking her to clear what might as well be an impossible hurdle in order to give the girl so much as a chance.  The priestess was trying her best to lower the bar a bit to something she might actually be able to accomplish.

[17]

Shimiko was not moved by Ryuko's assessment of the situation. As far as Shimiko was concerned, they had more in common with their foreign adversaries than they did with Nozomi's band of terrorists. She was willing to give Nozomi a second-chance if Ryuko wished it but she would not let the rest of those dogs ride in on her coat tails. The blonde furrowed her brow in annoyance and replied:

"Like hell they are! As I said before, Nozomi might get a pardon but only if she gives up the rest. We don't need whatever scum she has working under her and it will be a cloudless day in Kumo before I let a bunch of ragged......."

Shimiko could feel it. That itch. It crept up her spine just as quickly as it had abated. Shimiko had pushed her luck once and she had no desire to do it again. Just a few seconds ago, their argument had never devolved into bloodshed. There was no telling what would happen if she tempted fate a second time. Learning how to forgive and be at peace was a difficult road for her but she was willing to take the first step. That said, she wasn't going to forgive everything that Nozomi had done. She was sacrificing a lot to let the opposing blonde come to the table but if Nozomi couldn't match her then there'd be no truce, only blood.

"I don't want to argue about this. Not again..." she said. She had been raising her voice and the intensity of this conversation required cool heads. "Let's put a pin in this discussion and pick it up another time....besides....the Twins should have been home a while ago" Shimiko said in a tone characteristic of a mother that was worried about her teenage kids. "I'm sure its nothing, Yui's been dating recently so I'm sure she probably went out with some boy but I'm going to head to the Church to make sure. You're free to stay here with Seigi if you like. You have a big road ahead of you and you should get some relaxation in. Check out the Jacuzzi, have some fun in the gym....its been a crazy day and I-I...I need to do some thinking on my own too. A walk will be good for me. It'll give me a chance to clear my head."

She smiled but she didn't elaborate. Shimiko had just confessed to some dark deeds and she wanted to be a better person. A better Jashinist. A better mother. It might call for her to re-evaluate her approach to life and she couldn't start that journey while stewing about her arch-enemy. It'd be better if they revisited the conversation at a later date.

Seigi would bring his hand to his mouth for a moment, thinking, before speaking up.

"I agree with Ryuko." Seigi would say, looking to Shimiko to guage her response. "I don't like it, but she's right. If there are factions within The Society, we can use that to our advantage. We don't have to like it, but if we can turn them against each other, the enemy of our enemy is our friend." He would say to the small group, hoping Shimiko wouldn't run from this. "The fact of the matter is, with the situation between the villages, we can't sit idly by. We need strong allies. A surrender isn't going to stop them, only delay" Sitting back down on the couch, Seigi would take a deep breath, clenching his jaw after.

The entire situation in itself was precarious and Kumogakure was in a bit of a hole. They needed the assistance of either Iwagakure or Sunagakure, but the odds of that happening was probably slim to none. A headache would erupt in Seigi's brain and he would rub his temples before letting out a sigh. He knew Shimiko was not going to like him siding with Ryuko, but what choice did they have?

"I suppose we're passed the point where I could infiltrate The Society, huh?" He would ask, laughing he did so. He would reach toward the table, where Oda had left his drink, before bringing it closer to him and sniffing it to check for poison before downing the remainder of the man's drink.

Upon seeing Shimiko’s small eruption Ryuko had to wonder if maybe she should have just dropped the subject for the day already while she was ahead. After everything that had happened so far this day none of them were in any condition to continue discussing things with a clear head.

Frankly speaking the priestess was exhausted in more ways than one. Drained both emotionally and spiritually after having to deal with the now former Daimyo and talking Shimiko from stepping off the precipice of despair. With the tension of the situation gone the adrenaline that was in her system had faded leaving her feeling like a puppet that had its strings cut.

At this point she didn’t have the energy left to continue debating things which is why she breathed a sigh of relief as Shimiko suggested putting a pin in things for the day followed by Seigi providing the much needed backup she had been begging him for.

“Thank you.” she mouthed silently to him nodding in appreciation. At least one of the siblings recognized that this was a highly complex situation and that Ryuko would need some wiggle room in order to properly deal with it if she was going to have any chance at a favourable outcome.

“Shimiko you said you believed in me so All I ask is that you continue to do so. You know I’m not the type of person to settle on some half baked deal just because it suits my own personal ends.” said Ryuoko gently. Right now she was giving almost everything of herself to the village, if she was capable of being that selfish just to be with Nozomi she would have resigned her Jounin commission the moment she recovered from her coma and run off from her responsibilities.

She wasn’t quite sure if Seigi was joking about the idea of inflation or not but she decided she should at least humour him on the topic a bit since he’d been generous enough to lend her his aid in the debate on how to handle things.

“The best timing would have been when they liberated you from the blood prison. It’d seem more natural that way then if you showed up months later asking to team up. You could still use that as a plausible excuse to approach them if you really wanted to, but I’d hate to ask anything more from you at the moment after you’ve already done so much for us. “ said Ryuko as she stood up

“History may never record what you have suffered for the sake of the village, but know that I am eternally grateful for your service. As Raikage and Queen I swear to work my hardest so that the time and blood you sacrificed was not in vain.” she continued ending her speech by giving him a salute full of respect from one kage to another.

Now that Shimiko had mentioned it Ryuko had to wonder what the twins had gotten up to. It was a very lucky break they hadn’t walked in on a more awkward moment such as when Ryuko had given Shimiko a big fat kiss right on the lips. Talk about something that would have been embarrassing to have to explain.

Pouring herself a shot of highly concentrated vodka Ryuko held it up for a Toast declaring “For Kumo” before slugging the alcohol back in one big gulp. The burning sensation that came from her throat felt pleasant after the turbulous day’s events. It felt like a cleansing of her pallet from all the negative emotions that had been accumulating inside her.

“I hope you’ll excuse me. Normally I’d be delighted at the chance to continue to enjoy your company Seigi but I need my rest. After awakening from my comma I’ve been afraid to go back to sleep…. Afraid I might not wake up again. I think this might be the first time I’ve felt secure in the future ahead of me and it’s all thanks to you Shi-chan.” said Ryuko wistfully.

Shimiko was the type of woman who would hardly bend for anything. The fact that she was even giving Ryuko a chance here said everything. They might not be related by blood but she was the best sister the lonely priestess could ever ask for. She was blessed to have such wonderful family in her life.

Taking a moment to gather up the gear she had dropped onto the floor Ryuko gave the pair of siblings a friendly wave goodbye as she made to exit the room. Shimko might have a lot to think about but she herself was heading straight home to bed.

[18]

-Attempted exit-

Shimiko shot Seigi a glare when he agreed with Ryuko. He was supposed to take her side! She crossed her arms but remained silent at he expressed support for the idea of working with the organization. The Society had nearly killed her friends and then- love interest. They had killed scores of Lightning Country citizens and made a mockery of the established order. Shimiko had no love for the other villages but at least they understood and respected the core ideal behind the existing system. Shimiko's Clan had put in so much to Kumo that she felt as though she was disrespecting their legacy as shinobi if she worked with an avowed terrorist. Who the hell does she think she is getting on TV and passing judgment on our way of life? The Lightning Country is blessed by Jashin to lead this world and we won't be constrained by the likes of her...

Shimiko was getting aggravated just thinking about it, but she refused to blow up on Ryuko and Seigi. Instead, she kept quiet. She didn't even respond to Seigi's joke about infiltration. She was too busy stewing over Nozomi and the possibility that the woman and her minions would be Kumo's "comrades." Before her rage escalated, Ryuko accepted her truce. The conversation would be tabled. They had been through a lot today and the ramifications of her visit would echo throughout history for centuries to come. That was enough excitement for one day. When Ryuko got a bottle of vodka and poured some, Shimiko followed suit before raising her glass in salute to the country. She wasn't happy or enthusiastic though. The whereabouts of her Twins and the possibility of Nozomi being her SISTER-IN-LAW (JASHIN FORBID!) was enough to drain the pep out of her spirit.

When Ryuko excused herself and thanked Shimiko, the blonde couldn't help but smile. There was a bit of saddness behind it as she felt as though she might be losing her best friend to her worst enemy. But Ryuko had asked for her trust and the Priestess had more than earned it. Shimiko hugged her friend goodbye and ushered her out.

"No Ryuko...thank you...."

Shimiko would never have considered regretting her life of mayhem and murder if not for Ryuko and Seigi. They wanted her to be a better person. She wanted the same for Yui and Yua. That would require some painful adjustments in thinking and action on her part. With Ryuko gone, Shimiko turned to her brother and said:

"I'm heading out to check up on the Twins....I cooked some food. Its in the fridge if you want something to eat. I'll be back later"

She gave him a hug, got ready, and prepared to head out. Before she left, Shimiko stopped mid-way through the door and turned to Seigi. She was miffed that he had sided with Ryuko but she knew he had her best interests at heart. She didn't think she'd ever have to show her darker side to him and she had always feared he'd reject her for it. But knowing that he was in her corner no matter what only made her want to reiterate her gratitude.

"Oh and Seigi....thanks again" she gave him a final smile before walking out the door.


[Exit]

It was obvious that Shimiko wasn't fond of the idea of Nozomi helping out, but he knew that with enough time, and perhaps a little bit of coaxing, he could at least convince his sister to at least not murder the woman on sight. Seigi knew why her emotions ran so high towards the woman, but he never expected her emotions to get the better of her like they had today. He knew he would most likely have to work more hand-in-hand with Ryuko when it came to The Society and how they proceeded forward with them. He couldn't let emotions complicate village matters even more than they currently did.

"Geez, what a mess I've got myself into..." He would think, smiling as he did. Closing his eyes, he would recoup when Ryuko thanked him for his service to Kumogakure. He would simply nod to the woman as she saluted him.

"Repay me by making sure Kumogakure prospers. That's all I ask." He would say, raising Oda's glass to her and sipping from it one more time before finishing the contents. He would repeat her, nodding once again. Every step he had taken had led him here, to once more fighting for the village he loved. As both Shimiko and Ryuko would finish up, leaving him to himself in the tower, Seigi would sigh, setting the glass down on the table, leaning his head back on the couch he sat on, closing his eyes to rest.

"For Kumo."

[End thread]