Princess Triumverate II (Flashback)

Crunch. Crunch. Crunch. Kitsuki's designer heels made soft imprints in the snowy ground as she walked to the Pristine Water Fountain. The landmark structure was one of the nicest features of the Emporium in the height of its glory. It was the centerpiece to a beautiful residential square where lovers kissed, children played and the elderly challenged each other to friendly matches of Shogi. Now all that remained was an off-kilter statute, a pond littered with corpses, and torn-up pavement. Kit had chosen the now rundown Pristine Water Fountain as the meeting place for the second Princess Triumvirate Conference. She had done so for mostly functional reasons although there was a sentimental component to it. Firstly, the square where the fountain sat was on a flat plane which would make it easier to spot interlopers and would give their guards a chance to step in if someone tried to breach the perimeter. Secondly, the fountain was located in the center section of the former city. Kit had heard that her fellow Princesses were all on the artificial island at the same time and thus she figured it respectful to hold the meeting somewhere that they could all get to at a reasonable time. Of course, her kindness was probably wasted on the likes of Sayuri.

That psycho will probably show up late on purpose just to piss me off...

When Kitsuki arrived at the fountain, she rested her cane on the ground and kept both hands on the pommel. It was snowing but the anomalous characteristics of the gravity matrix were causing some of the flakes to remain suspended in mid-air or to float upwards after hitting the ground. Neither the disturbed laws of gravity nor the frost bothered her though. Kit didn't really get cold anymore. Her body was so hardy that she could frolic in the Land of Iron naked and not feel a bit of discomfort. What she was more concerned about was the agenda for today's meeting. There were several controversial topics that they'd need to discuss and she wasn't on the best terms with either of her co-rulers. She outright despised Sayuri and the feeling was most definitely mutual. She worked well with Arisu, but the two had such differing opinions on the Ōtsutsuki question that they may as well be adversaries. She guessed that Sayu and Arisu were equally contentious but she couldn't be sure.

They could gang up on me. They could squeeze me out of decision-making by voting against me as a block or worse they could decide to vote me out of the Triumverate.


Kit was strong enough to physically stop them but how would that look? Beat Sayu and Arisu to a pulp and take over the government? Establishing a solo Princess dictatorship after she had led a revolution against Hana? Unthinkable. She'd bring shame on House Kurahasa and would embarrass her family including her sister who had just returned to her. Kit's fro was laden with flakes of snow and they were flung from her curls when she shook her head in disagreement.

No...I have to work with them. I have to show them that working with me is better than working against me and I have to do it with words and not threats. Kiri is only stable if we work together. They must see that.


With that conviction set in her mind, Kitsuki ran through some of the points that she wanted to talk about.

The Second Kage Summit
The Death of Madrigal Hyuuga
The Society
Kaida, Daughter of Ken
Sero's Cult
The Hokage's Death
Search for Okane
Mass Senicide in Sunagakure
The Arrest of Irui Mikiri


She wasn't sure if they would get to all of these topics or if they'd even want discuss them. It was worth a shot though. Kitsuki impatiently tapped her cane against the ground as she waited for the rest of her fellow Princesses to arrive.

Arisu had been so involved in the clean up of the wreckage that she hadn't bothered cleaning up. Usually pristine in presentation, dressed in immaculately kept clothes of either high functionality or high quality, she was currently still wearing her battle gear, although she'd sent the Six Paths of Pain home, choosing to rest and recover her vast chakra reserves rather than maintaining them as always.

Her rinnegan were not active for the time being, her normal golden eyes visible. While she didn't really ever get tired, Arisu was unkempt, her clothes quite dirty, some slight wounds from the battles that had yet to recover, her hair still a bit of a mess as well, having worked its way out of the ponytail and braid she usually kept it in.

She was glad that they'd managed to take down the Indaina Kujira, the nations finally working together for once, and while she didn't necessarily trust Kitsuki, she knew that she could count on her to be a good asset in keeping the peace of the world and doing what was good. Arriving to the meeting, she gave a half bow to Kitsuki, an unusual sign of respect from the Otsutsuki who didn't usually acknowledge Kitsuki as much of an equal.

Arisu stared around at the wreckage around them in silence as she waited for Sayuri to show up. All the violence here that had been completely unnecessary, Arisu couldn't get behind it. She didn't understand why someone would do something like this. So many innocent and helpless people had been caught up in the attack. While she was no stranger to violence, it was something that she detested on mass scales. And as the Protector Goddess of this World, she couldn't help but feel that she'd failed. She wasn't currently strong enough to take on the defense of the planet on her own. The Indaina Kujira had been too much for her on her own. If only she had more Paths, more power, then she'd be able to do more.

"Thank you for aiding me in the fight."

Kitsuki saw Arisu making her way over to the fountain looking most unlike her usual self. One thing the Angelic Princess admired about her colleague was that she always put so much effort into her appearance. It was the mark of true royalty to carry one's self with the highest esteem. Of course, in times of crisis, they had no choice but to set aside vanity in favor of practicality. Kitsuki held her cane in one hand, returned Arisu's bow and gave a neutral reply.

"You're most welcome."

Kitsuki didn't feel the need to thank Arisu however. As far as she was concerned, this was their duty. They had signed up for this the moment they affixed their names to the seal and took up the title of "Princess." Kiri's former leaders might have been content to abandon the people, but Kit never would and she was glad to see that at least one of the Princesses felt the same. She waited around in silence for a long time before speaking up. Sayuri obviously didn't care about the ramifications this fight would have on their country and the world. She was nowhere to be found.

Kit rested her cane on her shoulder and sighed with annoyance.

"She's late" Kitsuki finally said. Her voice was laden with anger and frustration.

"This does not surprise me."

Sayuri had been quite inflammatory last time that they had met. She seemed to enjoy it, despite her station as a leader. Arisu simply chalked it up to odd human traits. Oftentimes they were quite impertinent and liked to do things to get a rise out of others, rather than for any real reasons. Arisu was much more straightforward and direct. If she didn't like something or someone, she simply said it. There was no point in wasting time being petty.

"Did you know there are humans inhabiting the moon? They seemed to be aware of the Otsutsuki name by look alone. They were working on something in secret, even had some sort of defenses that try to keep unauthorized personnel away by inducing migraines."

Arisu looked up into the sky, recalling back to her visit there. It had certainly struck her as odd, but she hadn't vocalized that at any point until now. Nobody really knew that she'd been up there either, but she was able to travel wherever she wanted at will more or less.

The moon, a celestial body created by the Sage, inhabited by those who thought themselves to be beyond the bounds and limitations of normal humans. Trying to breach into the realm of the divines. It was heretical, sacrilegious. But Kitsuki wouldn't care about that point. She'd also made it clear that she didn't respect Arisu's divinity, only her political and combat prowess. Still, even she would have to admit that it was strange that people had managed to make it up there. And they had to be planning something in secret, or they wouldn't have had those defenses.

Sayuri was in no particular hurry to attend the meeting that Kitsuki had called. She had no reason to believe that it was urgent or time sensitive, and more than likely if she did have a reason to believe those things she would have been that much slower about arriving. She was thoroughly enjoying strolling through the area and examining the wreckage left by the attack on the Heavenly Emporium.

While a lot of the bodies, living or dead, had been removed by this time there were still remnants of their horrific suffering that lingered. Stones were stained with the blood of humans and aliens alike; the Emporium was akin to a canvas that was a testament to war, a macabre and beautiful reminder of the recent struggles. Sayuri was able to visualize what must have happened in each scene and the visions were both thrilling and comforting. They were similar to the visions that Jareth gave her to soothe her rage.

Because of the association of violent visions to calm emotions, by the time Sayuri arrived at the meeting place she was the picture of sage stoicism and rather than antagonize either of her fellow princesses she merely nodded politely at them both. She’d arrived in her typical attire; a long white gown surprisingly made out of fabric and not ice, her blonde hair was braided loosely and of course she wore no footwear. She had arrived just in time to hear Arisu speak about people on the moon, and with the innocence of someone much kinder than she, Sayuri spoke in a soft voice.

“Why are people on the moon though. . . I suppose the better question is how.” Sayuri made no mention of her tardiness, from her perspective there was no issue. She was genuinely curious about the moon people however, and she would hop up and sit cross legged on the edge of the corpse filled fountain.

It was good that Arisu was not oblivious to Sayuri's aggravating behavior. The alien was much better at not letting their colleague's rudeness get to her though. Kitsuki would need to take a page out of her book as the more irritated she got, the more pleasure Sayuri would derive from her frustration. Kit momentarily forgot her anger when Arisu dropped quite the celestial bombshell. Apparently there were humans on the moon and they were up to something secretive. She stared at her alien ally in disbelief for a few seconds.

"No...No I did not" she said in response to the interrogative. Kitsuki didn't even think it was possible for a person to exist on the moon. She had been taught that there was no breathable atmosphere on the moon and that any living thing would suffocate if transported there. However given the wonder of shinobi magic and the recent popularity of teleportation techniques, she couldn't help but rethink her past assumptions. If Akihiro and Arisu were capable of such feats then others could be as well. The secretive nature of their activities led Kit to believe that their presence could pose a danger to life on Earth. If that wasn't the case, then it was better to confirm it as opposed to putting blind faith in peace. Kit looked in the direction of the moon and only looked away when she felt someone approach She looked down to see Sayuri walking towards them.

The Princess wasn't wearing an arrogant smirk. Kit figured that she'd be mightily pleased with herself for disrespecting them both, but instead she gave a polite nod and sat down on the fountain's ledge. A chastising remark was on the tip of Kit's tongue, but she swallowed it. There was no point. She needed these women on her side and if Sayuri was actually going to behave like an adult then there was no use in bringing up grievances of punctuality. Kit decided not to call Sayuri out for her tardiness, but the unmistakable look of coldness made it clear that she hadn't overlooked the slight.

"I don't suppose they could have learned whatever technique you used to get there?" Kitsuki said looking towards Arisu. She assumed that Arisu could use her portal ability to go to other worlds such as the moon. It would explain how she had arrived on Earth in the first place and how other Ōtsutsuki were coming here as well. The two species were intertwined and there was a considerable degree of overlap between their abilities. Perhaps a human had learned how to tear through space-time just as easily.

The Ōtsutsuki aren't the only ones that can bend reality....


"Whatever the case may be, their intentions are unknown. They could be friend or foe. They could be state actors or non-state actors. The Moon isn't exactly anyone's property but if they are conducting secret activities there then the rest of the world should know and be able to do something about if if necessary. Global security is our primary concern. I say we...and by we I mean Kiri....should organize a Space Force capable of exploring and making first contact with these humans. Once we can develop a division capable of fighting on the Moon, we can approach the other nations of the world and see how they want to handle this. Either way, we should try to lead on this before the other nations find out. If we have military supremacy over space as a domain and take point on any missions in that arena, we can ensure that it isn't used for evil."

Kitsuki was putting it nicely, but the reality was that she wanted to start a Space Race. Maybe not in the traditional sense of placing weapons and craft in the skies, but of having a rapid means of deploying capable assets to the Moon. If humans were already there they could belong to another nation or no nation. Kiri couldn't afford to be at their mercy and that meant they needed to catch up quickly. Once Kiri's hegemony in Space and on the Moon was assured then the Empire could see to it that only peaceful activities were conducted there. It was perhaps a bit Machiavellian to propose hiding this information from the world, but the tragedies of late had taught Kit that sometimes you needed to conceal your actions in order to have the best chance of saving lives. She just hoped her sister Princesses agreed.

Finally, Sayuri had arrived, but only after Arisu had started speaking in idle conversation. Had she been waiting to enter, or did she just have good timing? She asked a valid question, one that Arisu had been ruminating over herself, but without Yomotsu Hirasaka, Arisu had no idea how anyone could get there, and she didn't think that anyone other than an Otsutsuki could utilize it. Even the descendants of the Sage at this point were so diluted by humanity that she didn't think that they'd be able to, although half Otsutsuki likely could.

"That is unknown."

While she hadn't ruled out them being related to the Otsutsuki, Arisu didn't think it was likely. The one who had spoken to her had called her out as being one, and didn't seem to be using it in terms of relation to his own kind. Kitsuki asked if they could have used the same technique, and she shook her head.

"Not possible. There are several techniques that we use that cannot be used by lesser beings."

That said, Arisu considered Kitsuki's proposal about making a Space-Force of some kind. She didn't really like the concept of humans trying to leave the planet or venture out to the greater beyond. They weren't ready for that stage yet, and she was supposed to be their protector, but the humans were a warmongering species. They could barely get along with each other, so she didn't really think they were going to be ready to ascend just yet.

"I would be willing to escort a select few to the moon, but my ability to transport people is taxing and is limited in scope, and your kind is not advanced to the point that they can travel there without my aid. For now, let us focus on the problems down here, where we can do more good, and revisit that later."

Turning to Sayuri, Arisu gestured.

"We're all here now, so we can begin the meeting proper. Beyond what I've already asked, I have nothing further to report at this time. I would like to know the particulars of the Kage Summit though, which I believe is why we gathered."

As Arisu answered Sayuri’s question, the Ice Queen would idly allow her fingers to trail lovingly towards the corpses that still lay in the destroyed fountain. It was an unconscious action, her mind had noted their presence and now sought out their comfort during what was proving to be a fairly intriguing meeting. She also noted Kitsuki’s cold glare and returned it with a gentle smile, an expression that could have been mistaken for sincere innocence. On anyone else but her. It hadn’t been her intention to upset Kitsuki with her late arrival; she was merely enjoying her walk and hadn’t been concerned with it at all. The fact that it seemed to have gotten under Kitsuki’s skin was just a happy side effect.

For the most part she stayed silent as the two other princesses spoke of traveling to the moon and how or if that would be accomplished. The idea of seeing people up there in the sky did tickle Sayuri’s sense of curiosity, but not enough for her to really delve into it. There was only the possibility of meeting new toys, whereas on this celestial body she had the guarantee of it. Her stomach turned as she heard both women speak of ‘good’ and ‘evil’.

‘They really are insufferable.’

‘Most mortals are, my Queen.’

‘Hmm. Even me, my King?’

‘Especially you.’

‘What?’

‘I mean that in the most loving way possible, my Queen. Is it not your goal to make others suffer?’

‘Well. . . yes.’

‘Then is it not a compliment?’

‘I suppose so. When you frame it like that. Although, if I didn’t know any better I’d assume you meant that you were tired of my company.’

‘Never. I need you, you are my whole universe and reason for being. I could never tire of you.’

‘Loyal and flattering as always, my King. Your words inspire as usual.’

‘I live to serve.’

The short exchange in Sayuri’s mind had taken her attention elsewhere momentarily and gave her blue eyes a faraway look, but her attention was brought back immediately as Arisu mentioned the Kage Summit. She turned her face to look at the alien princess directly and gave a slow smile, reminiscing fondly as she began her retelling of events.

“Ah yes, the Summit. It was. . . glorious really. Very exciting.”

Rolling up her sleeve she showed off the deep scar along her left arm, the scar left by the legendary blade Kurosawa. “It went as all such meetings go I suspect. Threats and violence and blood. For a peace talk there was very little that was peaceful about it. The Shogun was lovely and I would very much like to go and visit him again.” Her voice got higher pitched and faster paced as she continued, clearly excited about her travels and the things she had seen.

“The entire land is covered in snow, it is the most wonderful thing. Ice and snow as far as the eye can see. . . comforting really. The picturesque landscape aside, the people of Tetsumura are exquisite, all full of hatred and bloodlust. They really do hate us quite a lot you know. Which. . . considering what we - Kirigakure - did to them, I suppose it is fair. I’m honestly surprised they let me leave, and didn’t keep me to set some sort of example to any other up and coming conquerors. I’m a bit sad actually, that would have been fun.

There was a small skirmish and the Shogun gave me this gift. . .” She would run her finger down the scar again to draw attention to the ‘gift’. “. . .The Hokage, Tengoku Shinku, insisted on causing a scene, throwing around raiton and things escalated. Let’s see. . . Iwagakure, represented by Shin Muramatsu, wants little to do with anyone, which again seems fair considering what was done to Iwagakure. Kumogakure was represented by none other than Shimiko Chinoike, and that was. . .” Sayuri sighed happily as she remembered the blonde woman’s touch. “Oh and Ei Kanagawa was there as the Kazekage, except it wasn’t her at all. As it turns out, Ei Kanagawa is dead, and Nozomi Himitsu was invited by the Shogun himself to attend the Summit. Oh that threw everyone for a loop, and the big reveal was probably even more exciting than me being able to see my bones. Unfortunately, Nozomi was not nearly as terrifying as stories made her out to be. In the end she decided to do the right thing and told us everything she knew about the Society and its plans.” The disappointment was palpable as she spoke of Nozomi, she had been expecting carnage and was met with yet more ‘goodness’.

Sayuri would continue retelling the events, including all the bureaucratic minutiae that she assumed the two of them would want. The only parts she left out were her vision of the fall of Sunagakure and her clandestine meeting with Shimiko Chinoike.

"Not possible. There are several techniques that we use that cannot be used by lesser beings."
"Beg Pardon?"

The meeting between the Princesses had started amicably enough. It gave Kitsuki hope that it might actually proceed quite smoothly. Sayuri's tardiness notwithstanding, they had gotten right down to business and Arisu had provided some important information. It was only when the alien implied that humans were "lesser beings" did things take a turn for the worse. Kitsuki had always suspected that the Celestial Princess looked down on humans, but she never imagined that Arisu would be so arrogant as to openly state it. Kit's question was indeed answered. Arisu was not aware of anyone except the Ōtsutsuki who could tear open such a portal. However, the way she responded forced Kit to take issue with her phrasing. The question was entirely rhetorical and her facial expression was identical to the one you made when someone had said something offensive. Kit was curious as to whether Arisu would apologize for categorizing her species as lesser and if she did not, Kit would give her a dirty look but say nothing more. The moment would be filed in her memory and added to the growing list of reasons why Arisu could not be trusted. Kitsuki would glance over in Sayuri's direction to see how the Ice Princess would react. She'd probably find the insult funny, if only for the reason that it clearly upset Kitsuki. Not wanting to derail the meeting further or give Sayuri further amusement, she simply clutched her cane and allowed the speciesism to go unaddressed...for now.

Arisu was not overly enthusiastic about Kitsuki's idea. She again reiterated the inferiority of humanity and said that her plan wasn't of crucial importance. Kitsuki wouldn't fight her on this. Currently the only way for them to get on the moon was through her aid and if Kit tried to press her into agreeing with her space exploration plan, then Arisu might give a more emphatic "No." She let the matter die in favor of hearing Sayuri's report on the Summit, but she vowed to one day return to the subject.

I might need to develop my own means to get there....if only Okane was still here....he could maybe help us....

The Summit was the next and most important topic of discussion. Sayuri spoke up and described the land as being beautiful, but filled with bloodlust. Kitsuki had always assumed that the Summit had went well as all nations agreed to cease hostilities and there weren't any reports of serious violence. Apparently this was a naive assumption. The Summit was fraught with chaos and violence with tensions still hot from the war prior. Kit knew firsthand that the samurai had not forgotten Kyoji's unjustified assault on their nation. She had managed to get an audience with the Shogun and his chief Diplomat, but the aura of suspicion and resentment never truly disappeared. It was ironic that such a people would deign to host a meeting of Kage.

Despite Sayuri's efforts to the contrary, peace was achieved. And even more miraculously, one of the biggest threats to global stability had arrived at the meeting and joined the side of good. Kitsuki thought back to her conversation with the former Kiri-Nin and wondered if it played a role in her decision to turn away from the Society. As Sayuri went on to explain the details of the meeting and Nozomi's rationale, Kitsuki began to realize that she could claim no credit for the Nuke-Nin's conversion. While there was a lot of sabre rattling at the Summit, there were certain elements of the meeting that Kitsuki was absolutely onboard with. The birth of SHIRA was a godsend to the shinobi world and she was surprised that such an idea had originally been proposed by Shimiko. The talk of limiting child soldiers and exclusive technique proliferation was likewise promising. The biggest development at the Summit, however, was not the end of the Gurētodaiingu nor the ancillary deals made. It was Shimiko's heartfelt plea to Nozomi and how she had used their common perspectives to win the shinobi over. Kitsuki had never met the Honey Badger, but she had long considered the woman to be an arch-enemy of peace. Sayuri's recounting of the events made her re-think that. She didn't fully trust Sayuri's version of events, but she knew that the Ice Princess thought so little of them that she often saw no reason to be deceptive.

Kitsuki felt her anger subside as Sayuri explained that Nozomi had turned against the Society on the basis of her love for Ryuko and Honiko. It was a positive development, but her defection brought grave news. The information that she provided at the Summit was more than disturbing and it made Kitsuki's blood run cold. The Society had been more involved with the world affairs that she had previously thought. Several of the world's first generation of Kage were members of their ranks. Even worse, they were led by a man claiming to be the Water Disciple of Hagoromo. One of the original disciples and founders of Suiton? The revelation stirred Zizz who had been peacefully "sleeping" on a strand of her host's hair. The tiny Angel sensed Kitsuki's apprehension and suddenly became alert. It maintained its imperceptible size but communicated its thoughts to Kitsuki.

ⵡⴰⵉⵜ, ⵜⵀⴻ ⵙⴰⵎⴻ oⵍⴷ ⵎⴰⵏ ⵜⵀⴰⵜ poⵙⵙⴻⵙⵙⴻⴷ ⴰⵏⴷ ⴽⵉⵍⵍⴻⴷ ⴰⵙⵀⵉⵜⴰⴽⴰ?

He's not just some old man....he's the founder of shinobi magic. He's basically revered as a God on this planet. His first disciples were said to be the most powerful warriors who ever lived. I hope he's lying because if its true then the Indaina Kujira might be the least of our worries.

The self-proclaimed Shinobi Messiah aimed to overthrow the world order and install himself and his acolytes as the rulers of the planet. They claimed the Sage's mandate and would clearly stop at nothing to achieve their aims. Any doubt Kit had about who was behind the fall of the Heavenly Emporium immediately vanished. She remained silent as she thought over the implications of this historic moment. The second meeting of the Princess Triumvirate had only just begun and Kitsuki was now speechless.

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

"Keep in mind that Chakra is natural to the Otsutsuki. While you are born with Chakra now, it was a gift to the inhabitants of this world, and thus humans haven't spent as long evolving with it. My people have an innate control over chakra that simply grants us better abilities than humans could access at their current stage of evolution. Maybe in a few thousand generations."

Arisu then listened to Sayuri's retelling of the events of the Summit. There were several reveals that the Otsutsuki wasn't really expecting. The Society seemed to have some infighting, which was interesting. Given what she'd heard of the group, she wouldn't have thought that there was much behind it other than a few strong shinobi that wanted world reform through any means. That seemed more like a unified thought than Nozomi's betrayal seemed to suggest, giving her the idea that things weren't as they seemed with the terrorist group.

Quickly confirmed by the reveal that Joki, one of the original disciples of the Sage of Six Paths, was still alive and was truly behind the Society. If he was still alive now.... perhaps humans were a little further along than she had given them credit for, or at least some select few had the capacity to get there. That was a troubling thought, they didn't have the experience to deal with the responsibility that that came with. Humans had the capacity to cause great strife, and releasing that on a galactic scale with the sheer number they possessed? They could be much worse than the Otsutsuki generally had the capacity to be.

While it was often true that Otsutsuki were either Good or Evil, they weren't necessarily numerous, and humans were much more varied in their motivations and what drived them. Most of them were subject to greed and existed to consume. Millions of them being able to spread at rapid rates would consume the galaxy and strip it bare. That was the entire reason Arisu needed to become their deity, to guide them to evolution and teach them how to care for their planets and use their powers responsibly.

"I'm glad the nations were able to come together and end the war. Likewise, I'm glad that there was minimal blood drawn at the Summit. This stuff with the Society leaves me with hope for this world. Even the terrorists are not yet beyond redemption. Likely that means the attack of the Emporium didn't come from those defectors loyal to Nozomi. The Indaina Kujira would have been sent by the Disciple, and that's troubling. He wasn't present during the attack, which likely means he had confidence that the attack would be enough to deal with the shinobi forces present without him, meaning he likely is stronger than that creature was. A frightening concept."