Puella Magi Megami Tensei

[TremendousMilk3]

"T-Twins?!" You stammer out, staring at the doctor in disbelief, "Are you-- You're not lying, are you?!"

"Of course not, Mr. Konishi!" The doctor smiles as he puts his hand on your shoulder, "Ryoko is carrying twins."

Ryoko, who is laying on the gurney beside you, has stars in her eyes. "T-Takeshi...!" She looks utterly overjoyed as she squeezes your hand, "I'm... I'm having twins!"

Despite your nervousness at the prospect of caring for two instead of one, the sight of your dear wife smiling unabashedly puts you at ease. With her by your side, you have nothing to fear! "I guess we'll... Need another crib!" Her joy seems infectious as you feel a smile growing on your face.

"I've gotta tell Mom and Dad about this!" Normally, she'd shoot up out of her bed and rush right to Mei and Haruki's door, but such actions are impossible as of now.

You help her to her feet, and hug her.

How are you gonna manage twins...?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They have everything ready.

The cribs, the clothes, the books...

...You helped Takeshi paint the room, you put those plastic bits into all of the outlets, you double checked everything he did just in case...

...Now, all you can do is wait.

God, it's agonizing...!

Gouto hops up on the chair next to you, a sly grin on his face. "Man, you look awful!" He jabs, "If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were having the babies!"

"I..." You rub your eyes, struggling to drink another cup of cold coffee, "...I've been up for a while longer than I'm used to."

"Raido, you last slept two days ago." Gouto corrects, stretching out before curling up on the seat, "It's gonna work out. You and Takeshi did everything you could've done."

"But what if--?"

"Raido, you're a detective!" The black cat interrupts, "You deal only in absolute facts! So, let's go over our "evidence"!"

"Our evidence...?"

"In every single doctor visit you attended with Ryoko, the doctors all said that she was fine." Gouto explains slowly, as if he was talking to a child, "Moreover, they all said that the babies would both be healthy when she popped 'em out."

"...They said that, but--!!"

"Mr. Kuzunoha?" The sudden voice makes you stiffen a little, "You look... Ragged." The doctor that the Yatagarasu hired says from inside the doorway.

"Is everything alright?!" You ask slightly louder than you meant to, "Is my sister--?"

"Holding her daughter and her son?" The doctor smiles contently, "She is, sir. She has two, healthy and happy children in her arms."

Those words make the weight in your chest simply fade away into nothing. You nearly pass out then and there, but somehow manage to hold on to your consciousness.

"She asked me to get you, Mr. Kuzunoha." He motions you inside, "Come and see!"

With a bit of lethargy, you somehow manage to stand up. You're almost delirious, but you still walk into the hospital room, and see...

...

"...Takeshi." Ryoko asks in something just a couple of octaves higher than a whisper.

"Y-Y-Yes, Ryoko...?" Takeshi looks tense.

"Why do my babies have tails?"

 

[TremendousMilk3]

"Naru... Stop here." The former General Nephrite pleads, "I need to... Regather my strength..."

The brown haired girl, Naru, complies with a short nod, trying to set Nephrite down as gently as she can. Seeing as you're carrying him as well, you assist her (not that you have much choice).

"You mentioned assassins. Plural." Without a moment to spare, you begin to gather information about your enemy, "How many did your colleagues send?"

"Vergil, can't you see he's hurt?!" Naru whines at you, "He needs to--!!"

"Do you want to end up like him?" You ask sternly, "We need to know numbers, tactics, weaponry, and we need it now."

Naru furrows her brow like a child who just heard the word "no" for the first time, "How can you be so--?!"

"There are three." Nephrite interrupts, "Plant based. They fire thorns," he huffs between breaths, "...And they're fast."

"Can they track you precisely?" You hound him for anything useful, why do you care if he lives or dies?

"The traitor Nephrite has been located!" You hear a woman's voice from above you--

"Naru!!" Nephrite shouts as he covers the young girl with his body, "Urk...!"

You were too focused on defending yourself. Why do you care? Swatting another thorn to the ground, you dash upwards and cleave one of your assailants in two.

You fall to the ground, and find yourself being shot at on the way down. One annoyingly strikes you in the shoulder, another cuts your leg.

You huff in frustration, prepared to--

"Fire Soul!!" You hear an aggravating voice call out. As if tonight couldn't get any worse for you. At least she can aim, as you see one of the Youma assassins go up in flames and turn to ash.

The Sailor Guardians have arrived. Sailor Mars rushes in to defend Nephrite and Naru, which honestly surprises you. He was their enemy, no? Why do you care?

Your momentary lapse in concentration causes the Youma to make a bold move, wrapping your uninjured leg in a thorny vine. She smiles at this, like she's just won the day.

"Moon Tiara...!" You hear her before you see her (as usual), "...Action!" The bright light of a thrown tiara collides with the Youma, smiting it in an instant.

"Forgive me... Lord Zoisite!" She cries as she turns to dust.

The vine around your leg withers and dies, and you shake off what's left of it. Turning your head to see what has happened, you see the Sailor Guardians crowding around Naru and...

...Oh.

You quickly join the small crowd, why do you care so much?, and kneel down beside Nephrite. Naru is grabbing his hand as he weakly turns to her, life quickly fading from his face.

They are speaking, but you don't register it. To you, it looks like they're just opening their mouths without any sound.

She must be begging for him to hold on, for the Sailors to do something, but to no avail. It's much too late for him.

It was too late for him once he met Naru.

When you don't see anyone else talking, you feel something bubbling up in your throat, and before you can even think...

"...Be proud. You were strong enough to protect her." ...You speak.

...So that's why you care.

Nephrite weakly smiles at all of you before closing his eyes...

...And fading away into light.

Naru begs for Nephrite to return, but he has already passed on. She cries in futility, in sorrow...

...And, truth be told, there's not a dry eye amongst the Sailor Guardians.

You stand up, and turn away from everyone.

You're sure Mercury or Mars is calling for you to stay, but you dare not turn back to look.

Devils never cry.

 

[TremendousMilk3]

"This world needs a hero. One strong enough to save it..."
​

The second Madoka made her Wish, you looped again. In an instant, you were right back to square one. The hospital room.

The beige colored walls offer no comfort or escape, just a reminder that, until your transfer to Mitakihara Middle School is completed, you are stuck here. You've spent most of your normal life surrounded by walls like this. Every time you look at them, you seem to seethe a little.

But that's irrelevant. You're long past that weak life...

...But right now, as far as anyone knows, you're just Homura Akemi, a fragile girl who only recently recovered from her life saving operation. Maybe you should play into that this loop. No, that wouldn't win Madoka's favor. You need to be strong. You need to be perfect.

...You need to wait.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"...From you."
​

You stop on your usual stroll through the park with Papa and Tatsuya. There's something in the grass, quietly glittering in the afternoon sun.

Seeing as your family has stopped to sit on a bench (and to let Tatsuya play), you have no reason not to investigate. Could someone have lost their phone? You grow closer, and...?

You gasp as you stoop down to pick up the object hidden in the blades of grass. Is it... A gemstone of some kind? It's kinda big, not like anything you'd find on any jewelry...

"Madoka?" Tatsuya pats you on the leg, apparently having followed you. He points at the gem in your hand and tilts his head.

"Are you asking me what I found, Tatsuya?" You ask, tilting your head in response.

He nods, "Looks pretty...!" He says.

"Yeah..." You take another look at the purple, diamond-shaped gem in your hand, "...If I didn't know any better, I'd think it was glowing...!"

"Magic?!" Tatsuya excitedly asks, staring at it even more intensely.

"No, Tatsuya! It's not magic, silly!" You smile as you pat his head, "...At least, I don't think so... Oh! We should go show Papa!"

"Papa! Papa!" Tatsuya calls as he rushed over to Papa.

You smile as you follow him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"That is my Wish, Kyubey!"
​

...Okay, this is not where you fell asleep.

You specifically remember that you decided to take a nap under a palm tree near the beach, but close enough to where you'd still be laying in the grass.

You know you'd wake up if someone tried to move you, and you sure as heck wouldn't be able to sleep through a whole city being built around you, so that only leaves one option. This only has one possible recourse.

Blame Eggman.

Now that the "how" is rationalized, you decide to check out what kind of place this is. Who knows, the carnival could be in town!

Welp, time to go get a lay of the land! Watch out, unnamed city, here comes Sonic The Hedgehog!

 

[TremendousMilk3]

OOC: Couldn't sleep, write this.

You skid to a stop at another street sign you can't decipher. As if being stranded in another world wasn't bad enough, you can't even read anything here. Super.

You sigh, shaking your head, "Where's Tails when I need him...?" You're only joking, but still.

...While you're out and about, you might as well learn the streets some more. Not like you've got anything better to do, right?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Another Witch down! You're doing great today!

Your musket unfurls back into ribbons as you land on the sidewalk with a skip. This marks your fifth Witch this week, and it's only...?

You see a peculiar sight, standing just in front of Mitakihara Park. It looks to be some sort of blue, spiny, bipedal creature tapping its foot impatiently.

It must be the leftover Familiar from some other Magical Girl hunting in your territory. While you'd like to find this girl and lecture her on the importance of finishing off Familiars, you should take care of this first. You manifest a new musket, take aim, and fire--

It's gone?! Did you overdo it? Was it really so weak that it--?

"Didja get him?" Something taps your shoulder.

You glance to your side, only to find the Familiar standing right beside you, glancing at where it just was.

"Did you... Just... Speak?" You ask, your eyes trained in the strange creature that you don't think is a Familiar anymore.

"Did you... Just... Shoot at me?" It asks right back, mimicking the cadence of your voice.

Your face pales.

It raises an eyebrow.

"...I apologize." You tell the strange creature, "I thought you were something else."

"Do you usually shoot at things you don't understand?" It-- No, he jabs, "That seems like a bad way to make friends, kid."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Oh... My head...!" You place your hand to your forehead, "...Sage, status report."

Sage instantly appears beside you, "That anomaly over South Island suddenly spiked in activity, and drew us to another point in space." She says in her trademark calm demeanor, "Other than the bare minimum, I'm afraid I have little information aside from that."

"Well, at least we're still in one piece..." You get up, rotating your arm a little to loosen up the joint, "...Mostly. Where's Metal?"

"Metal Sonic stopped responding when we were pulled into the anomaly." Sage informs you, "I can locate the unit, but it will take some time to calibrate the Eggmobile's scanners to lock on to his frequency."

"The Eggmobile survived the trip, then?" You breath a sigh of relief, "Good. We'll need it."

"It is a little... "Dinged up", but should still be fully operational." Sage says, floating beside you as you both walk to the Eggmobile, "I used most of its energy shielding to protect you instead of it. With your brilliant mind, you can construct another Eggmobile. I cannot construct another you, Father."

"...Thank you." You almost mutter, finding the Eggmobile on its side.

There are scorch marks all over the hull, the windshield is shattered, but the interior is...

...Fine, actually. At least you're getting your money's worth on the leather seat.

You climb into your personal hovercraft, and take off.

Look out, unnamed city, here comes Dr. Ivo Robotnik!

 

[TremendousMilk3]

"Vergil?" You knock just loudly enough for him to hear, "Can I talk to you?"

You hear the floorboards groan as he rises (almost masking groans of his own), and soon after, the door to the shrine turned home opens.

"Do you have any idea what time it is, Mercury?" Vergil growls, clearly still tired from last night.

"...It's only five o'clock?" You shoot him a slightly worried glance, "Were you sleeping all day?"

"No." He states plainly, "Other things demanded my attention. Kind of like what you are doing, right now."

"W-Well, then, I suppose I should, um, get to the point." You smile slightly as you produce the small basket of goodies that you and the other Sailor Guardians put together, "Um, here!"

Vergil glances at the basket, but quickly returns his gaze to you. "...What is this?"

"It's a care package!" You calmly answer, "Mars, Moon and I put it together for you after Nephrite's... Passing. We didn't know what you like to eat, so we decided to put in some of our favorite snacks and drinks!"

Vergil stares at you for a long moment, face completely unreadable.

"...And, um, we didn't know when your birthday was, so... Happy Late or Early Birthday?" You raise the basket up a little more.

"...It was two and a half weeks ago." Vergil's voice seems to lose its usual edge for a moment, "It didn't seem relevant to bring up at the time." Very slowly, he takes the gift from your hands, and sets it inside off to the side.

"...Vergil? May I ask you something?" You break the silence that has settled between you two, "How do you feel about the Dark Kingdom, the Sailor Guardians... All of this?"

Vergil sighs, "It's a headache with pastel colors." He states, "But I consider your group as... Neighborly acquaintances. Mostly." He adds.

...Well, it's certainly a better standing than you thought! "I see. And the Dark--?"

"Enemies." He spits out.

"...That's kinda all I had for today." You shift around awkwardly, "See you soon...?" You turn to leave--

"He came to me." Vergil's voice cut through the silent afternoon, "In the nights leading to his death. I spoke with him."

"I'm glad he didn't suffer alone." You say, turning back with a sympathetic smile. "See you, Vergil."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

...She's far enough away for you to shut the door. You take a deep breath, turning back to the unlit, unpowered shack you call a home, and sit down on a nice couch you found in an alley. You glance over at the basket of "goodies" on top of the small table beside the door.

"...Happy Birthday," You scoff, "Not even close."

 

[TremendousMilk3]

I've had an idea for another Yumi for the Yumiverse:

Fantasy!Yumi, where she is half dragon, half human, and 100% Yumi! How did she meet Kohaku in that world? She rescued her from a bunch of weird people in cloaks (READ: Kidnapped Kohaku when she was about to be sacrificed to Yumi's mother, whom they believe is the guardian deity of the mountains. She is not, as she has told them multiple times).

If anyone wants to write Dragon!Yumi, go right ahead.

Scheduled vote count started by TremendousMilk3 on Jan 7, 2025 at 2:57 AM, finished with 11 posts and 8 votes.

• ---

  8 people have voted

  [X] "Well, if you're offering, do you think you could... Tutor me in swordplay?"
  -[X] "It just feels like with everything going on that I'm not doing enough, and not strong enough to change anything."

  • Herofox
  • Catgc
  • AspiringFixer
  • Isiri Pudireach
  • Solarstream
  • DragonOfAtlantis
  • Kutenaiabi
  • K4lepo

 

[TremendousMilk3]

You stare at your "birthday" gift, with a great deal of confusion and suspicion. It's been in your possession for a few days, but you haven't the foggiest idea as to what you're actually going to do with it. What confounds you the most is why they felt like they needed to do this, and why they actually went ahead and did it.

Was this a sort of bribe? In times before your own, people would leave offerings at shrines like these in order to gain favor from gods and spirits, so perhaps the same thing is happening here? They must've figured out your heritage, or at the very least some connection to Sparda...

...But what if these supposed gifts are poisoned? Contaminated with some glittery, neon toxin that could kill within seconds? The Sailor Guardians could be using your (frankly slim) trust in them to slay you without battle. From there, their leader would only have to pin the blame on the Dark Kingdom, and the others will redouble their efforts.

"Sailor Moon, you devious...!" You mutter under your breath, "...Feigning incompetence so that I would let my guard down, only to poison me...!" You glare at the basket of snacks as if it had pulled a gun on you.

...No. You shake your head, banishing the idea from your mind (not fully). From everything you've seen her demonstrate, tactics and forethought are not her strong suit. Besides, they surely must know about Father being... Your father, so any poisons they can concoct will be ineffective at best, and detectible at worst.

Hesitantly, you reach over to the basket, plucking some sort of pastry wrapped in plastic. Despite being five days old at this point, it's still spongy and looks to be in good condition.

You slowly unwrap the pastry, checking for any abnormalities in its form. Finding none, you bring it closer to your mouth, and...

...Take a bite.

...

...

...

...It's good passable.

So this is your very own birthday cake? And you don't even have to share any of it with Dante?

A smile threatens to creep upon your lips. Seeing as there's nobody around, you let it.

"...Maybe..." You swallow another bite, "...Maybe this year's birthday isn't entirely bad."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"It took him five days to finally try something!" You tell Ami as you sit on the table, "Five days! It's like he thought they were poisoned or something!"

"Vergil seems to have trouble trusting people..." She replies, nodding to you, "...But thank you for keeping an eye on him, Luna. I'm glad he's doing alright."

"No, he's not!" You cut her off, "He barely sleeps, he doesn't have a bed, there's no kitchen in that little shrine, and the only time I've seen him eat or drink anything is when he finally dug into your gift basket! He's...!" You sigh, "...There's just too many unknowns about him."

"I know that." Ami says calmly, "And so do Usagi and Rei. But even still, he... He saved Rei when we first met him. He honestly gave his thoughts on our abilities, even though he was a little ornery about it. He tried to save Nephrite and Naru, all by himself." She looks you in the eyes, and you can feel Ami's quiet determination, "I trust him, Luna. The others do, too."

You sigh, shaking your head, "...I hope it's not misplaced."

 

[TremendousMilk3]

"Mr. Taggart!" You wave at him as you walk by on your way to school, "Good morning!"

Mr. Taggart, who is in the middle of watering his lawn, gives you a quick nod, then goes back to his task.

He's a quiet guy, and looks menacing, but he's actually pretty nice! You're honestly glad to be neighbors with him. No time to chat, though! You don't want to be late! You run past him, almost not noticing two amber eyes peering at you from the windows of his home.

You quickly brush it off. He must have a child of some sort. You wonder who his wife is as you continue your walk...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Nagisa?" The doctor enters without knocking like he usually does, "Someone is here to visit you and your mother."

"...Don't wanna..." You mumble, holding Mama's hand to your cheek.

"It'd be rude to turn him away, Nagisa..." The dumb doctor presses, putting his hands to his hips.

You don't have the energy to reply right now, so you simply nod your head a little. The doctor opens the door fully, and--

Your little heart almost stops beating as a big, strong looking guy enters the room! He has arms as big as your head, and could cover your whole face with one hand!

"This is Flynn Taggart," The doctor says as if he's reading it off of a script, "He and your mother were-- are good friends, so he's offered to let you stay with him." When you glare at the doctor, he hastily adds, "...Until Chiyoko gets better, of course!"

With that, the doctor quickly leaves.

Leaving you alone with this...

...Guy.

You stare up at him cautiously.

He slowly lumbers over, taking a seat on the floor. Despite this, he's at eye level with you. He doesn't speak, just looking at Mama with... You're pretty sure he's sad that she's not okay.

"Mama..." You nuzzle her hand, "...She's gonna be okay, right?"

He looks at you, thinking deeply over his answer. Then...

"...She's tough." Mr. Flynn nods, his voice as rough as sandpaper.

"Everyone says that, too. But when they think I can't hear..." You stare at your lap, "The doctors say that it's... In-operate-able."

He keeps his gaze on you, silently watching you for... Something.

"They think I'm stupid." You huff, "I'm just a kid, but...! But I know stuff! They keep saying that Mama's gonna...!" You sniffle.

"They're pessimists, kid." He sighs as you look at the scars on his arms, "Paid to be."

"...So they're stupid?" You tilt your head.

"A little." He glances back up at Mama, "Everyone is."

"So Mama's gonna be okay?!" You shoot up out of your seat, "A-And then we can eat cheesecake again?!"

"O' course." He stands up, "But she wouldn't want ya hanging 'round the hospital. It's kinda gloomy, kid, and you got classes."

"So, I'm gonna stay with you?" You stare up at the tower of a man before you.

He nods, "Go get something to eat. I'll be along."

You nod furiously, racing off to the cafeteria, noticing the bottle of blue stuff in his hand.

It's probably not important, you decide as you zip through the halls.

 

[TremendousMilk3]

"Mr. Flynn?" You ask as you follow him around the kitchen, "Are you an army guy?"

Mr. Flynn just nods, putting a thumb to his dogtags.

Dogtags... "Why are they called dogtags?" You ask another question.

"Dunno." He grumbles (he's not angry or annoyed, he just grumbles a lot), "Never thought about it."

"What do you think about?" You ask yet another question.

"Stuff." He replies, handing you a G. I. Joe lunchbox, "Get your bookbag, I'll take you to school."

"Do you have a car?" You tilt your head. You didn't see one in the driveway...

"Bike." He replies, opening the door to the garage, "Little seat's yours."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

...Oh, that's odd. You usually see Mr. Taggart in his yard on the way to school, but he's not there today. Maybe he slept in or--

You almost leap out of your skin as you hear the booming roar of a motorcycle suddenly start up. The garage door opens, revealing Mr. Taggart sat on a dark green chopper with flame decals on it. Beside him, in a small carriage car, is...?

...Wait, do you recognize those eyes from--?

He speeds off, and his passenger's white hair trails behind her as they disappear into the morning traffic.

You're stunned for a moment, unsure as what to do.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Okay, you know for damn sure that Kazamino is your territory, but if this guy wanted to hunt here, you'd probably have to let him.

He's, like, seven feet tall, and has biceps the size of your head! This guy could probably crush someone's head in his hands!

At least you're more agile than him, though! If he could keep up with you with those specs? You could kiss your territory goodbye!

...Oh, shit, he's not faster than you, is he?

You shake your head, dispelling any hesitation from your mind. He's just some guy, and you're a Magical Girl! He wouldn't last a second against a Witch! Speaking of which, he's about to run into one...

...But what if he can fight it?

Damnit, now you're actually thinking he has a shot!

You know what? You'll bite.

You're gonna trail him through the Labyrinth, and if he makes it to the Witch, you'll help him out. If not, it's not like you've got anywhere to be.

Welp, here goes!

 

[TremendousMilk3]

Even the greatest heroes fall.
You, despite being neither, met such a shameful end. Shot in the back by something wearing your best friend's face. And, in such a cowardly move, you failed to save your world. You failed to save your love. You failed to save anything. You failed. You failed. You--​

"...Yuki." Kohaku's voice echoes in your ears, sounding impossibly far off, and yet... "...Yuki, I know you can hear me."

>"I can..."
>>"Koh... Ha... Ku...?"
>Grumble a little.

"Koh... Ha...?" You barely manage to breathe out.

"I'm right here, Yuki." Kohaku assures you, "I'm here."

"I..." You huff, trying desperately to keep some kind of composure, "...I'm sorry."

"Save your strength. You're going to need it." You feel her fingers in your hair, "I know you, Yuki. I know that you have a lot of love in your heart. Love for me, love for your family, love for our friends..." You can hear her calm breaths, "...But I also know you can't leave a battle half done."

Kohaku's voice seems so much clearer now, like she's pulled you right to her from...

"...Shoji...!" You try to move, but your body fails to respond.

"I know, I know...!" She assures you, running her fingers through your hair again, "But you can't face him like this. You're tired, and hurt, and broken." You sense that a sad smile has graced her face, "Just like I was."

There's a familiar warmness seeping into your every pore. This light being cast down upon you...!

"Is this...?" You try to ask, opening your eyes. Everything is blurry, but you know that you're inside of the Maze of Eternity's innermost sanctum.

"It is." Kohaku confirms, looking down at you from where you lay, "This place is linked to you. It's where you feel safest, calmest, and I..." She trails off.

"Is it over...?" You ask, locking eyes with her, "Did I...?"

"No." With a calm determination, Kohaku shakes her head, "You did everything that you could. But... I didn't."

"...What...?"

"My magic." Kohaku explains, "I should've tried to heal you before... It tried to stab you."

"...Heat of the moment...!" You weakly raise your hand to poke her in the cheek, "It happens...!"

"It shouldn't. Not to you." Kohaku closes her eyes as you begin to feel... Everything again, "But now, I'm gonna fix my mistake."

"Kohaku...?" You stare up at her in confusion, "What do you...?!"

You see it.

You see what she's talking about about.

You know what she's doing.

"Kohaku, don't...!" Your heart pounds in your chest as you reach up to her fading form, "Kohaku!"

"This is for the best." She closes her eyes as tears begin to fall upon your face, "You can't die here, Yuki. I won't let you. Not now, not ever." She smiles, motes of light flying up out of her and into the sky, "I will always be with you, watching over you. So long as you carry on, I will carry you."

"This is gonna kill you!" God damnit, why can't you move?! "I don't want to--!"

"I'm giving you everything, of my own volition." She puts her fading hand on your forehead, "You made it possible for me to choose for the first time in my life. And I'm choosing this. Let me fix you the same way you fixed me."

"Kohaku!!" You shout, finally finding the strength to move, "Koha--!!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"...Ku...!!" You sputter as you shoot up off of the ground. Kohaku stands just in front of you.

...Or, a statue that looks like her. All that's left after that stunt.

The thing wearing Shoji's body stares at you in abject horror. "NOOOOOOOO!!" It wails in Shoji's voice, his head not even attached to his body at this point. There's just a golden mask replacing his face.

You rise slowly, shambling over to what remains of Kohaku.

"You insolent harlot!!" It shouts, pointing at the body of stone, "You've ruined everything!! That power was to be Mine! And you've wasted your pathetic existence on this... On this vermin?! Idiot! You worthless, wretched--!!"

"Worthless...?" Your voice is low, but pierces his raving like an arrow, "Wasted?"

The Pretender glowers down at you, "You have something to say to Me, your Creator? Speak unto Me your last words clearly, you--"

"Kohaku is a lot of things." You cut it off again, "Caring, protective, gentle... Maybe even a little reckless." Your eyes meet the Pretender's, and you manifest your sword off of your back, "But she isn't worthless, you fuck!"

"And you believe you know the worth and value of a life better than I?"

"Shut your fucking mouth!" You scream out in utter, visceral hatred, "You don't know jack shit about her! You just saw her power and her magic, and wanted it all for yourself! You don't care about anything other than keeping yourself as the head honcho! You can't love, you've never even lived!" You pant out, stepping closer, "And now, I've only got one question for you..." A bright blue glow begins to drown out the golden veneer of the Pretender, "...What happens when a god dies?"