CRABOOOM
The raging thunder and lightning loomed over Tsukuyomi’s shrine, his home. The beast of the sky roared into the city as it crept through the clouds, and the screams of an innocent boy echoed in the great hall. For a god stood at the door, his smile piercing the minds of those staring helplessly into his eyes. Izuku, Jiro, Shimura, and the others were paralyzed by this display of power, and the god waiting outside turned his gaze to Tsukuyomi, who stood quietly, but with burning rage.
“Hello… Big Brother…” Susanoo said in a deep, raspy voice.
“Little Brother…” Tsukuyomi grunted disdainfully.
The two gods stood staring at each other, their eyes searing hatred and power. The kami of the moon stared back at another kami, but Izuku didn’t know who he was. This man, whose large bamboo hat covered his face, bled a heinous and terrifying aura, a wicked soul. Shimura shot upward, his hands bursting in flame, and his eyes screeched ravenous intent.
“Midoriya you listen to me right now,” He said as his voice suddenly turned choked and watery. “You need to get Akiba out of here, take him back to Inari’s house and stay with him, got it?!”
Izuku looked at Shimura awestruck, but at the same time he was afraid. The man whipped his head around, and that’s when Izuku saw the fury, the animalistic carnage in his blood red eyes. It had only been a short time since he had really gotten to know the fellow, but this was something he never saw coming. The flames on Shimura’s hands grew larger, and his fury became unrecognizable.
“Didn’t you hear me?! GO!!!”
“Gah! Right!!” Izuku cried in fear.
The boy shot upward and grabbed Akiba with all his might, Jiro looked at him and joined without a second thought.
“Wait!! SHIMURA!!”
Tenko looked back at the crying child, and smiled while giving him a thumb’s up.
“I’ll be fine, your big and powerful okami’s coming right back.” He said happily.
As Izuku ran, he became lost in thought, his body shaking with fear.
Who is that guy? Why’s he here now? He thought as he sprinted away from the clash. Is he here because of me? No, it can’t be that’s too convenient. Given the way he’s reacting and what he’s saying, he has to be here for Tsukuyomi. But why? Why now?
“MOM!”
Izuku sprinted forward with Akiba over his shoulder, and Inko ran over to him with fear.
“Mayu, go with them, I’ll stay here.” Inari said with his teeth sharpened.
“What?” Izuku cried. “But Inari what will happen if-”
Mayu stepped in front of him, her arm blocking him with a protective nature.
“The Young Master knows what he’s doing,” Mayu said in a deep, serious voice. “Go, you’re not ready for this, but you will be in time.”
Izuku looked upward at the woman, whose six tails wavered with confidence. Her eyes met his, and she nodded with a stern look. She suddenly snapped her fingers.
SNAP
And without warning, a door appeared right behind Inko.
“Go.” She said.
Izuku looked at Inko, and then Jiro. They both nodded in agreement and started for the door.
“Keeping someone like Akiba safe is what a Hero would do, that’s what I think at least.” Jiro said.
Izuku looked at her in a moment of awe and shock, but shook his head. He felt the weight of the words she had spoken, Heroes must protect all, right? Of course they should.
She’s right. Izuku thought. Inari… I hope you know what you’re doing!
“Let’s go, come on.” Inko said.
She twisted the handle on the door.
JINGLE
“What?” Inko said.
She turned the handle again.
“Why won’t it open?” She cried.
Inari widened his eyes and turned his gaze to them, Inko continued to turn the handle, but it wouldn’t turn. Jiro stepped in and tried again with a more aggressive approach, yet the door did not turn.
No… the kami thought to himself.
CLAP, CLAP
Inari whipped his head around in terror, as did Izuku, Inko, and Jiro.
CRABOOM
“AHHH! AHHH!!!” Akiba screamed.
“AKIBA!” Satoshi and Tenko cried. The dragon’s eyes raged a terrifying blue, glaring at Susanoo. “Enough of your games! Stop this storm, you're scaring the boy!!”
The man in the bamboo hat sighed, and lifted his left fist. He tilted his head, and then… he opened his hand.
CRACK, STROOOOOM
A bolt of lightning scorched the ground and blazed a burning light next to the kami. Tsukuyomi stood there, unphased, as the lightning sparked and flickered with a feral power and ability. He looked over, and grabbed the bolt with his bare hands. Izuku stood there defenseless, his hopes feeling crushed as this man looked at his creation. Tenko grit his teeth hard with fury, the flames now lining his arms, and Tsukuyomi gripped his sacred tonfa even tighter, the very moon itself suddenly shook.
And yet, Susanoo continued to smirk, the lightning he took hold of crashed from the sky and shrunk to that of a regular knife. He placed the lightning bolt inside his charred black kimono, and after its light vanished, the moon returned.
WHWOOOOOOLL
Everyone looked upward as something made a horrible sound, yet it vanished as quickly as it appeared.
“I’m afraid you’ll all have to stay here for this little talk,” Susanoo said in a suave voice. “I have business that needs to be addressed, and I really hate it when individuals like yourself try to skip.”
Izuku grunted as he held Akiba close.
“Why are you here Susanoo?” Satoshi asked. However, the god snapped his head over at the beast, his eyes filled with bloodlust. They screamed hate and violence, on scale so immense that even Satoshi froze.
“Learn your fucking place Snakeskin…” Susanoo growled.
Satoshi gasped, but soon his rage boiled over. His antlers grew larger, his face grew a snout with two large blue strands etching from the snout. His fingernails became claws, and his teeth became fangs. However, Tsukuyomi raised his arm and stayed silent, staring only at Susanoo.
“Why are you here?” He asked quietly.
“Guess.” Susanoo replied.
The two gods stood quietly, and Izuku started shaking in his sandals while trying to protect Akiba. The boy looked at Izuku, sweat dripping down the side of his cheek.
Tsukuyomi let out a sigh, and his tonfa vanished from all eyes. He grabbed the collar of his haori and pulled it to straighten it properly.
“Welcome to my shrine.” he said.
Susanoo smirked.
“Thank you for your hospitality.” the man said with a condescending smile. “Everyone, come! Please let’s have a nice chat…”
SNAP
Susanoo snapped his fingers and suddenly everyone levitated into the air.
“Wh-what the?!” Izuku cried. “What’s happening?!”
“Holy crap! Everyone just-” Inko cried.
“Mrs. Midoriya!! Grab Akiba!!” Jiro shouted.
Yet all was too late.
“Wh- WHAAAAA!!!!”
“AKIBA!!” Izuku, Jiro, Inari, and Tenko cried.
The young boy was thrown across the whole room, and suddenly, he found himself sitting on Susanoo’s lap, the god sitting quietly at the table.
“I SWEAR, IF YOU PUT A FINGER ON HIM I’LL-” Tenko screamed.
“You’ll what? You’re speaking to one of the Three Precious Children.” Susanoo taunted. “How would Sensei feel if she found out you dared to challenge me?”
Tenko clenched his fists, his bloodlust starting to boil.
“Come now mortal, get that angry and the Blight will corrupt you faster than you can say ‘Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto.’”
With that, Tenko felt something shoot through him. He gasped, and lowered his head. He quietly moved to a seat, and sat down, without saying a word.
With a flash, everyone else was forced into a seat. Izuku sat next to Jiro with great force, Inko next to Mayu, and Inari next to Susanoo himself. As for Satoshi, he was violently pinned against a wall.
“GAH!!!” He screamed.
“Satoshi!!” Inari cried.
“Leave the Snakeskin, it’s not like anyone really cares…” Susanoo said coldly.
“That’s quite enough!” Tsukuyomi cried with controlled anger. “The Council will no doubt hear of this, and given our recent revelation, it’s highly suspicious for you to arrive at this time.”
Susanoo looked around at the many faces that now laid before him, he looked at Izuku, who grit his teeth in fear, and next to him was Jiro, whose earphone jacks were jagged with mixed emotions. His eyes snapped to Inari, the young god in his kimono, his face remaining calm, yet slightly frustrated. Inko was taken aback, and her fear reflected her son, and Mayu, the fox with six tails. She had a face was quiet disgust, disdain for the god, but Susanoo… was intrigued.
“You,” he said. “Bring us some sake, I’m in need of drink.”
“I may be an advisor but I’m not a maid.” Mayu said angrily.
“Mayu…”
The fox looked over at Inari, whose golden eyes stared at her with sorrow.
“Do as he says.”
“Young Master! Surely you-”
“Do it.”
Mayu gasped in surprise, but as she looked at Inari, she saw something she knew all too well. Inari was… sad, dejected by that same feeling she knew for centuries. She lowered her head in silence, and stood up.
“Warm or chilled?” She asked.
“Warm, it has such a unique taste and flavor.” Susanoo said snidely, brushing Akiba’s hair with his hand. The young boy sat there with horror in his eyes, he left out little squeaks of panic and fear, gripping his pants with terror in his eyes.
“Hey it’s okay kiddo, I’m not such a bad guy.” Susanoo said with a leering eye.
“Take your hands off of him…”
Everyone looked at Izuku, who raised his head, his emerald eyes filled with a sudden anger.
“Take your hands off him you bastard!!”
“Izuku!” Inko cried.
“You’re really going to gloat about how great you are when you’re scaring a kid like that? What kind of kami would do such a thing?!”
Susanoo was unconvinced, and as he was about to say something, Mayu returned with a bottle of sake, one white and round, and gave him a small serving glass.
“Why not have some sake to cool off?” He asked.
He waved his fingers, and suddenly, a second sake serving glass elegantly split itself from the original. The sake bottle suddenly hovered in the air and poured the alcohol into the glass. It flew over to Izuku, and before he could react…
ZIP
The glass forced itself onto Izuku's lips and the sake rushed into his mouth. Izuku trembled and thrashed in his seat as he choked and scrambled for the glass.
“IZUKU!!” Inko screamed.
Jiro stepped in and tried to grab the glass, the china dish zipping back and forth from his lips. Izuku felt his breath being ripped away from him, tried all he might, the glass would not relent. Jiro managed to grab the small thing and smashed it on the floor, and Izuku ripped his body forward, grabbing his chest.
COUGH COUGH COUGH, WHEEEEEEZE
“Are you okay?!” Jiro yelled as Izuku coughed and hacked form the sake.
“HAAAAAAAAAH *WHEEEEEZE* HAHAHAHAHAAA!!!!!” Susanoo cried with a wicked laugh. “What’s wrong? Drunk already kid?! HAHAAA!”
“STOP IT! HE’S MY SON!!” Inko screamed in anger.
“Susanoo!” Tsukuyomi screamed. “Izuku Midoriya is only a child! He’s 14 years of age and you dare force him to drink?”
“Brother you know as well as I do that we were drinking when we were five,” Susanoo retorted. “But since you hate having your time wasted so much, I’ll put aside the jokes for right now, maybe these mortals can finally understand everything.”
The room fell silent once again, aside from Izuku’s continued coughing, his body scraping for any kind of fresh air, the foul aftertaste of sake still fresh in his mouth. He looked upward at Susanoo, who fixed his bamboo hat, and he held his throat.
“You okay Midoriya?” Jiro asked frantically.
“I’m fine.” Izuku replied.
Susanoo scoffed, and looked at his brother Tsukuyomi.
“Word on the street is that another human has entered the Spirit World and is currently upsetting the Natural Scale!” He said as he took a sip of his sake. He sat it on the table, then started combing Akiba’s shoulder. “We can’t really have that now, can we? Then again… why even bother with such a vague law?”
“What are you talking about?” Tsukuyomi demanded, his silver hair falling into his face.
“Brother, has your memory gone numb? I just said it!” Susanoo replied. “The Natural Scale? Who in Yomi even came up with such a dumb double-standard thing like that anyway? I want to protect my home as much as you do, but to follow such a vague concept infuriates me!”
“What's the Natural Scale?” Izuku whispered to Jiro.
“From what Inari and Sensei’ve been teaching me, it’s a law that demands balance between the Human and Spirit Worlds.” Jiro explained quietly. “The Council established it centuries ago, stating that our worlds need to stay separate in order to maintain this… balance. Really big stuff.”
“What you’re saying is heresy you know.” Inari said harshly to Susanoo. “The Council made these laws for the betterment of both the Human World and the Spirit World. Even with your status, that’s something you can’t ignore Susanoo!”
“And you’re a hypocrite little fox,” the kami replied as he pat Akiba on the head, Inari pursed his lips and grit his teeth. “Housing humans in your abode up on Mount Sakura? Blessing them even and giving them powers beyond their understanding? Have you ever tried looking in a mirror lately and wondered who the real villain is here? After all, you have all those damn shrines down in the Human World, those idiots sure do you love you so much.”
Inari grunted.
“Has your love for humans blinded you? Have you forgotten your home?” Susanoo asked pretentiously. “Why is it that someone who is so peaceful, someone so devoted to pacifism, so enthralled by the idea of inviting humans into our world?! Humans who bring nothing but chaos everywhere they go?!”
“Don’t turn this on Inari brother,” Tsukuyomi warned. “He has done everything to maintain peace on both planes.”
“Yes, because you’re always up on your damn moon, never seeing the real dangers with your own eyes, coward.”
The room fell silent, and Susanoo started to waver in his mood. His smile vanished, replaced by a scorn face and mind. His eyes started to speak, and whisper after they opened their mouths.
“At least… that’s what the old me would say…”
Izuku gasped quietly, and Jiro widened her eyes with fear. Tenko summoned a small flame behind his back, a flame in the shape of a knife.
“Honestly? Fuck it!”
“I beg your pardon?” Tsukuyomi asked.
Susanoo chuckled, and soon he erupted into laughter.
“Have any of you ever wondered why these rules even exist? Have you ever wondered how they’re enforced or why the Council hides in Takamagahara?” Susanoo asked. “Has it ever dawned on you, Big Brother, why in Yomi that any of this matters, when they’re never around to see what we go through every single day?”
The kami threw his hands in the air.
“So let it all burn! Let whatever this sad rule is crash and burn to ashes, let the Spirit World decide for itself what to do against the humans! They should be afraid of us after all, there are so many powers they will never understand!”
Tsukuyomi scoffed.
“Your delusions are rotting your judgment, Little Brother,” He retorted. “The fact that you spew this nonsense shows that your pride is so tainted that you can’t even face basic logic.
“WHAT LOGIC?!”
CRA-BOOM
“NO! STOP IT!”
Everyone shook as Akiba started crying, his cheeks turning red as tears flashed down his face.
“Oh grow a spine already kid!” Susanoo growled.
“Shut up!!” Tenko screamed.
“Fine fine!” Susanoo replied. “I’ll settle down, humans are so annoying…”
He tilted his bamboo hat upward, and his face was revealed. Susanoo had long and lush black hair, it was so long that it reached halfway down his back, and he had a full beard stretching from his sideburns to his chin.
“That brings me to my next point, humans coming to the Spirit World, and yokai heading to the Human World,” He spoke. “Here we are, three humans now, all of them Blessed by three different kami, yet that somehow waives them of the Natural Scale? Yet when any of us want to head to the Human World, we’re suddenly violating that law?”
“Only kami filled with malice are breaking that law, like someone I know right now.” Inari said.
Never seen Inari act like… that. Izuku thought.
“Malice?” Susanoo asked with an irritated tone. “Me? Filled with malice?”
He pointed in the air making the face of a child, he was spinning his finger like he was following a wild bird, and when he made sputtering noises with his lips. Akiba was shaking on his lap as he tried to dismount, tried to run, but he felt a sudden jolt hit his body, and he was paralyzed in his spot. Susanoo spun his finger around once more, until he finally pointed at Inari, who flinched.
“No, forget it.” He said as he suddenly brought his hand and pat Akiba on the head once more. He grabbed his glass of sake and downed a shot in a single swallow, then he grabbed the bottle and poured another. “I have grown tired of the Council’s asinine double-standards in our affairs, acting like they know right and wrong before the whole world, despite their lavish accommodations and self-induced isolation in Takamagahara.”
The god took another drink, and stood upward. He shoved Akiba forward, the boy looked back in terror. Yet, Susanoo nodded, and gave him a soft smile. Without hesitation, the boy ran away crying his eyes out, and Inari shot from his seat.
“Inari!! INARI!!!!!” Akiba screamed.
Inari ran up to the boy and embraced him. Akiba screamed into Inari’s kimono as the kami hugged him close, so hard that he could feel the boy’s thin muscles move with every moment. Akiba screamed, cried, and wept into the kami’s clothes, so much that Inari could feel the warm tears on his pale and gray skin, and he looked up at Susanoo with anger.
“There there Akiba, I’m right here.” He said as he glared at Susanoo. “I won’t let that bully come anywhere close to you.” Susanoo scoffed.
“Yes, I’m the bully, that’s entirely accurate to my person,” He said sarcastically. “Don’t you understand?!”
He looked towards the whole room.
“I’m trying to save you all!”
Everyone gasped in confusion, Tenko grit his teeth again, the knife in his hands growing into a tanto. Jiro’s contract appeared again on her neck and cheeks, ice forming on her hands and back. Large needles appeared in her palms as Akiba continued crying. Inko ran up to Inari and together they took Akiba away, and Susanoo remained still.
He wants to save us…? Izuku thought. That doesn’t make any sense, no it can’t be!
“Don’t all of you understand that the Council is to blame for all of this?” Susanoo cried. “The reason I’ve come here is to help you understand! We have been slaves to their absent rule! They have no say in our lives, so why let them rule over us?”
“In fact, so many of our spirits have already been so blinded by them that they can’t see the danger looming over us all! They’ve even descended to the Human World trying to blend with the enemy, and become Yokai! So if they won’t listen…”
“Let them burn with the Council!”
“That doesn’t make any sense,” Mayu said after a long silence. “First you want to protect the Spirit World and that you love it like us, but now you want it to burn?!”
“What? No, I want to World to remain, but our people? They need to understand the lies they’ve been told, humans cannot come here!”
CLAP
Everyone turned as Tsukuyomi started clapping, he giggled with a strange happiness, and he looked up with a smile.
“Incredible,” He chuckled. “Little Brother I can’t believe you had us all startled with something as ridiculous as a non sequitur.”
He stood up, and walked around the table. He approached Izuku, and placed his hands on the boy’s shoulders, causing him to blush.
“Do you know why we have Blessings?” He asked.
“What?!” Susanoo asked. Tsukuyomi smiled.
“Blessings allow us to connect to humanity, learn about them, study them…”
“Befriend them and understand where we came from.”
Susanoo gasped, and Izuku looked at the kami, who was standing in disbelief.
“And in turn, they gain power from us, so they may become closer to us and befriend us as well.” Tsukuyomi continued. “It’s all about balance, something you seem to have forgotten about Little Brother.”
Susanoo scoffed, and turned his head away.
“Humans are just as important to the Spirit World as we are to the Human World,” Tsukuyomi continued. “Without our powers, our existence, the Human World would fall into chaos. Volcanoes would erupt, the sea would rage, the sun and my moon would create chaos for them all. Millions would die.”
Hold on a second… Izuku thought. Why is he saying all of this?
I’ve never heard Lord Tsukuyomi speak like this before… Jiro thought, her ice needles clenched in her hands. Wait… don’t tell me!
Tenko felt this sense as well, and Inari glanced at the three Blessed Ones quietly.
So Lord Tsuku’s really going there… Inari thought while he cuddled Akiba.
Is he saying that kami aren’t invincible? Izuku, Jiro, and Tenko all thought.
“Without humans however, we would all die…”
Izuku felt his heart stop, and he slowly glanced upward at the silver-haired kami. Tsukuyomi had a strange smile on his face, and his eyes spoke with absolute confidence. But for some reason… he felt scared.
Wait… he thought. You mean… the kami will die if not for us…? Does that include?
With a single heartbeat, he looked over at Inari, who continued to hold Akiba in his arms.
That means Inari will die too? He thought.
“Humans have faith in us, they built shrines and altars in our names, and they’ve shown us their love for centuries, they pray to us when their families are sick, they pray for strength and guidance, and because of that love, they give us life.”
“Without them, we would slowly fade into the clouds like Enenera, until we are nothing more than a distant memory…”
Susanoo looked down, his bamboo hat covering his entire face.
“So, Little Brother, these claims you have that humans bring nothing but chaos seem unfounded, in fact, they are closer to us more than ever thanks to their new abilities they call… Quirks.”
Izuku grunted and looked away, something Inari and Inko took notice of.
“Now then, if these frustrations of yours have subsided, then perhaps we can move onto the more pressing matter, the disappearance of Bishamon,” Tsukuyomi said in a calm voice. “Neko tells me she was last seen near Mount Kagutsuchi before she vanished, no one has heard from her in days.”
“You wouldn’t happen to know about that… would you?” He asked grimly.
Tsukuyomi pat Izuku on the shoulder, and suddenly, Izuku felt a bolt of electricity jolt his body.
No matter what happens young man, I will protect you, even if it costs me my life, Tsukuyomi’s voice echoed in Izuku’s mind. Inari feels the same way, the two of you have a bond now, and he will give you everything you need. Love, protection, friendship, anything…
Suddenly.
“Heh.”
Everyone flinched as Susanoo tilted his head upward, his red eyes glowing under his hat.
“Hehehehhehehee…”
Akiba chirped in fear, and he held Inari even tighter. The fox kami looked upward, and slowly backed away with Akiba in his arms. Tenko grunted in anger, and his flames grew stronger. Tsukuyomi went quiet, and held onto Izuku’s shoulders, but as the young man looked up, Tsukuyomi’s expression turned to that of quiet caution.
Yet Susanoo continued laughing, and Inko started to quiver. Mayu came to her side however, holding her gently as Susanoo’s cackles became more disturbed and broken. Jiro grit her teeth, the ice on her hands growing colder, and her breath became visible. Satoshi, who had remained silent this entire time, only watched as the kami laughed again, and again, and again.
“Let me answer your question with a question.” Susanoo said ominously.
“What makes you think I was involved?”
Tsukuyomi remained quiet as he stared his brother in the eye.
“How do you know I abducted Bishamon? What if she wanted to disappear?”
Inari grunted as he held Akiba.
“These are open questions Tsuku,” Susanoo said grimly. “What? No rebuttal? No wise words for this idiotic god?”
Silence deafened the room.
“Well of course not, I am the dimwitted of us three, no matter what you say or what you do I always find a way to… fuck everything up.”
“That’s not true!” Tsukuyomi cried. “I’ve seen the good in you, and you’re still family, but this isn’t the time for such matters, where is Bishamon?”
Susanoo chuckled once more.
“Of course this has to do with our family…” He said creepily. “In the end it always leads back to that day…”
Susanoo raised his arm and opened his hand, the very painting that Izuku gazed at earlier was ripped off the wall. It flew into Susanoo’s hand, and he looked at it with wretched eyes.
“You said moments ago that we kami depend on the humans for their faith, their love and prayers, if they were to disappear, then we’d die…”
He looked up at everyone in the room.
“Then what about me?” he asked. “No one loves me, not a single shrine is in my name, every night I hear the screams of all those humans and Snakeskins who curse me for who I am. I bring them rain, they cry for floods to end. I bring them rain for their crops, yet they die and curse my name, or grovel on the dirt like trash.”
“That’s not what happened.” Inari cried. “You killed hundreds of innocent lives over the most miniscule reasons! How could anyone do such a thing for something so small?!”
“No one cares about me… not even my own family…” Susanoo continued. “I just want to be a Hero and save our world from the Blight that humanity brings with it. That starts with banishing these four! Three of them may be Blessed but they cannot remain here! And that fourth one has no reason to be here at all!”
“Izuku is my son and it’s my duty to protect him!” Inko cried. “I love him with all my heart and no god, no matter how big or small, is getting in my way over that!”
Susanoo looked over at her, his blood red eyes glowing in the moonlight.
“Here’s proof, this one’s already letting her rage get the better of her.” He said. “So tell me everyone, brother, Inari… why am I the villain when I just want to protect what I hold dear?”
“Shut up!”
Everyone snapped their heads as Izuku stood up in rage. His eyes burned with a fury that Inko had never seen before. His emerald eyes were widened, and with every breath, his rage began to boil over.
“You…” Susanoo sighed. “Oh yes, you’re Inari’s special kid now since you formed a contract with him.”
“Just shut the hell up!!” Izuku screamed, his eyes started glowing, and a golden thread left his fingertips, causing Tsukuyomi and Susanoo to gasp quietly. The golden strands waved back and forth elegantly, its glow giving a warmth as though they were sitting beside a fire. The threads were long, unwavering, yet flowed like a river, a glow like a candle in the darkness.
The Heaven’s Chains… they both thought.
“You keep calling yourself a Hero but what do you know about that?!” Izuku asked. “A real Hero always saves others with hope, and with a smile, not threatening to kill others!!”
“I said no such thing.” Susanoo replied.
“Even so, there’s no way I can ever accept you as a Hero!” Izuku screamed. “What the hell kind of Hero tries to usurp others huh?! Do you really think you can create a better future through fear and forcing your views on everyone else just because you think you’re right?!”
“YOU’RE NO HERO AT ALL!!”
The room fell silent once more. Inko covered her mouth with her hands. Tenko and Satoshi widened their eyes, Inari looked at Izuku with shock, and Jiro… she looked at Izuku with wonder. Tsukuyomi looked down calmly, but on the inside, he was horrified.
*sigh*
Susanoo suddenly looked over at Izuku.
“Kid…” he said.
BLZZZT
Smoke rammed its way into the room, causing everyone to jump out of their seats. Akiba screamed once more.
“EVERYONE STAY CALM!!” Mayu screamed.
“BASTARD! WHERE’D HE GO?!” Tenko yelled.
“Hold on, I can help.” Jiro said calmly.
One of her earphone jacks extended a long distance, and it plugged into the very floor itself. Jiro held her hand to her ear, and a black kanji under her right eye glowed a soft violet. The room went quiet, and Jiro heard something, something faint yet very… very much alive. She ripped her eyes open, fear corrupting her with blistering speed, and she snapped her head around.
“Wait, he’s right there!!”
And as everyone turned, they all saw the smoke clear. Susanoo suddenly appeared in front of Tsukuyomi, who held his brother’s arm in the air. His eyes were filled with immense focus, but even with his reaction speed, Susanoo smiled.
“Niwa.”
And before Tsukuyomi could even react, everything went dark.
As the light returned, Izuku found himself in that place once more. An endless ocean as deep as a puddle, his feet submerged in the waters. He looked around everywhere as the shrine vanished. The world was so vast, yet so empty, it was nothing more than an oxymoron. Something so ironic that it made Izuku question why anything so barren would keep reappearing.
TOOOOOOOOM
He turned around as the grand Torii gate from before appeared yet again, and underneath it… stood Susanoo. He took a single step forward, and the god was suddenly inches from Izuku’s face.
“You really have no idea what you got yourself into…” He said. Susanoo reached a hand out… and touched Izuku on the forehead.
“Humans only understand war and terror, something that Blights everything it touches.”
“WAHHHHHHH! AH! AH! AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!”
Izuku felt something impale him from behind as a man ran by, engulfed in flames and flailing for his life.
“Humans only know despair and discord.”
“No, no please I didn’t do anything wrong!! INOSUKE’S THE KILLER!!”
Izuku stood defenselessly as he watched a man be decapitated right in front of him. His eyes trembled, his body shook violently, yet he couldn’t move anything no matter how hard he tried. He couldn’t breathe at all, and he clawed at his chest as another horrifying image was flashed before him.
“What’s the meaning of this brother?” Tsukuyomi asked as he held Susanoo’s arm in a pin.
“Human beings are so very fragile…” he said. “Yet they bring so much chaos and destruction. They know only division and hate.”
Back in the shrine, everyone remained paralyzed as Susanoo simply stared forward without seeing. Yet Tenko looked in horror… as Susanoo’s free hand touched Izuku’s forehead.
“Take your hand off him!!” Tenko screamed.
“Brother what in Father’s name are you-”
“Humans corrupt everything they touch. No matter how big or small, everything burns, and all they can do is smile…”
Inari looked over from across the table, and his spirit was filled with fear. Izuku’s body, which remained standing, started shaking and throbbing on impulse. Susanoo held the boy against his will, his eyes darting back and forth.
“IZUKU!!!” Inko screamed.
“Human beings… must be eradicated…”
“Enough! Release him now!” Tsukuyomi screamed.
Yet as the moon god moved to take action…
CRABOOOOM
Lightning soon appeared and struck the god so hard and so swiftly that he was sent through the wall with the force of an earthquake. Wood splintered everywhere, and Jiro used her ice daggers to shield the room. The spun at the speed of the wind itself, and suddenly, Susanoo vanished.
“Is everyone alright?!” Jiro screamed.
“I’m fine, but where’s Midoriya?!” Tenko shouted.
“RRRAAAAAH!!!!”
Satsohi ripped himself from the wall, and as he sprinted outside, he transformed once more. Gone was his human shape, and as he dove into the air.
HYEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAA
His body returned to that of a great serpentine dragon. His ocean blue scales reflected the moonlight, his talons cracked as he moved his hands, and his antlers grew to the size of trees. He screamed with the rage of a demon, and with a swift motion flew towards Susanoo, who stood beneath a Torii gate with Izuku in his arms.
“Nue.”
CRABOOOM
A creature as demonic as an Oni crashed down to the earth and struck Satoshi with lightning. Its claws ripped into the scales of the dragon and it bit hard on his stomach. The beast attacking Satoshi was an abomination, with the head of a monkey yet the sharp teeth and tusks of a demon. It had the legs and claws of a tiger, the body of a tanuki, and the tail of a vicious snake. It ripped into Satoshi’s scales, blood exploding onto its body as it coursed with lightning.
HRAAAAAAAAAA!!
“Holy-, it’s a Nue!” Tenko screamed.
“Can’t you all see that this all started with a human?!” Susanoo cried. “Can’t you see the Blight that is spreading due to his words?”
Yet inside this strange ocean world, Izuku was motionless. He couldn’t move as more atrocities were played before him. He started crying, tears pouring down his face as his fear reached a height he had never seen before, and Susanoo looked back at him once more.
For a pile of burning corpses, and a wild storm above, raged onward.
“This is why I fight, to end the madness you spur!” Susanoo cried. “Yet I can’t kill you much to my irritation, that clever bastard Inari gave you something far too precious…”
“But I sure as Yomi can send you a message…”
He grabbed Izuku’s cheeks, his palms turning a bright blue.
BZZZZT
All in one swift motion, Izuku collapsed to the ground, his vision turning black as the night. With a flash of moonlight, Tsukuyomi appeared with his tonfa equipped on his arms, his eyes raging with moonlight.
“SUSANOO!!!!” He roared.
The god of storms spun around as a katana made from the very lightning itself appeared in his hands.
CHIIIING
The weapons clashed and so did the gods, sparks flew outward and light clashed as the katana and tonfa screeched into the sky.
“I’d love to stay but as you know, I have a world to save.”
Susanoo suddenly snapped his fingers
CRABOOM
Lightning struck the ground and Tsukuyomi was sent flying once more. He slammed into the wall of stone behind him that lay in his courtyard. Tenko and Jiro covered their faces, and Akiba screamed from inside the shrine.
“STOP IT! STOP STOP STOP STOP!!!!”
“Akiba calm down!!” Inari cried as he shielded the boy with his body.
Yet suddenly, everything went quiet once more, and Susanoo vanished.
“Heed my words brother, no matter how much I try to explain myself, no one can ever listen to reason…”
“Therefore, in order to save this world I’ll have to take matters into my own hands, oh, and if anyone gets in my way? Not even Amaterasu will find their bodies…”
And soon, the Nue looked up, and with a spark of lightning, vanished into the sky. It was over, this battle at least, but the damage was done. Tenko looked around at the ruined shrine, the Torii gate was untouched, yet the small garden that Tsukuyomi planted was ripped apart. Blood flowed in the waters as Satoshi lay broken and bleeding from his fight with the Nue, his breath strong yet broken.
“Satoshi!” Jiro cried as she ran for the dragon’s head. She ran to one of his eyes, and his pupil was just as large as the girl. “Are you okay?!”
“Forget… me…” The dragon spoke. “The boy…!”
Yet as Jiro turned around, she stood in horror. Izuku laid on the ground throbbing back and forth, his mouth spurting with foam as he shook violently, and his tears were raging down his face. His shoulders violently ripped themselves up and down, his feet were kicking into the air at anyone who came close. His chest throbbed once more into the sky, arching his back like he was being possessed, and he dropped to the ground once more. Inari sprinted outside and dropped to his knees. He gazed at Izuku, whose foam turned dry, and suddenly, he heard a gurgling sound, something repulsive and groggy.
Wait.. he’s!
Inari immediately turned Izuku on his side, and soon after the boy puked on the ground. Inari kept Izuku on his side as he continued to vomit uncontrollably, and the god looked back in horror.
“He’s having a seizure!” He screamed. “We need to get him out of here now!”
He reached into his kimono and grabbed a small and green reed, he placed the small plant in his mouth.
TWIIIIIIIIIIIIOUUU
With a loud whistle, everyone suddenly heard a grand rumbling. Soon, an amber fox as large as Tsukuyomi’s shrine jumped into the scene, its eyes roaring a snow white, and its bushy tail was as large as a small forest.
“Young Master!” The fox screamed. “What’s the situation?!”
“Bring us to Sukunaikona, now!!” Inari screamed.
“At once Young Master!”
The fox lowered itself on the ground and Inari hoisted Izuku onto his shoulder. He carried himself onto the fox, and the fur secured Izuku onto the creature tightly.
“Wait! I’m coming too!”
Inko ran outside while Mayu carried Akiba in her arms.
“He’s my Izuku, I have to come!” Inko cried.
“Then get on!” Inari screamed.
He lent a hand and helped Inko onto the fox, while Mayu looked upward.
“Take Akiba and the others home, they’ll be safe there!” Inari cried. “Send word out to all of the foxes! Tell them to return to me at once!”
“Yes Young Master!” Mayu cried.
“Daisuke! Go!”
With a single command, the fox jumped into the air and sprinted away just like Tenko did before, and Inko cradled Izuku, who had collapsed without making a sound. His eyes stared without seeing, and his body continued to violently kick and spasm out of control.
“Please, stay with me Izuku!” She cried.
As for the others, they looked up with panic and terror, and Tsukuyomi joined them. He grit his teeth in anger, and the moon shone on the scene ever brighter.
“We must retreat, follow Inari’s command and return to his home. I must send word of this to the Council.”
“But Lord Tsukuyomi, what about Midoriya and Satoshi?! They both need help now!” Jiro cried.
“I know, Satoshi is my friend, I will treat him myself.” Tsukuyomi replied in haste. “And besides, dragons are much more difficult to heal than humans and spirits. So go now!”
Tenko reluctantly nodded, and with a single movement, he clapped his hands.
“Okami!!”
The flames transformed his body once again into the large white wolf, and Jiro and Mayu crawled onto his back.
“We’ll be at the house, I’ll have a protection stave up just in case!” Mayu cried.
“Good, I’ll meet you there later, for now…” Tsukuyomi said, he looked at the moon, and the clouds that loomed overhead. The others noticed it too, that strange, ominous dread. It lingered for so long, like a plague refusing to die, and Tsukuyomi knew it too well. He pointed at the moon, his shining symbol, and closed his eyes.
“We must prepare for the worst, and we must protect the Spirit World at all costs!”
