Confessions of a Goddess

It was clear from the moment that they woke up. Amane knew of Itsuki's decision. 

Itsuki and Yuna had been awake for about fifteen minutes after taking their respective naps. By that point, there was a knock at the door and a summons to meet with the Goddess. 

The summons was for Itsuki - alone. 

"And if I refuse to go without Yuna?" Itsuki asked. 

"It was a command, not a request," the guard spoke firmly. 

Itsuki sighed. It pained him to be in this position, but he had to approach this logically. Yuna was far stronger than he was - his presence would not impact her odds of surviving an assassination attempt or something similar. Still, he wasn't about to visit the Goddess without an insurance policy. 

"Take this," he spoke softly to Yuna, holding out the chained tome. 

"But its yours... You are the Judge, not me..."

"Yes, and my judgment is to temporarily hand this over to you. Take it and do not let it go. If someone tries to take it from you or harm you, I want you to rip this book open, and damn this entire city and its people..."

Both Yuna and the guard seemed taken aback by this callous remark. The guard stiffened combatively, but didn't act. Despite threatening Evermere, he held himself in restraint. 

--So the guards know, too...

"That's crazy, Itsuki!" Yuna exclaimed. "What if it doesn't open...what if the Dragon of Wisdom..."

"He'll allow it, I have no doubts," Itsuki interrupted. "If I trust anything, it's his conviction to see his judgment carried out thoroughly. The last piece is you. Promise me, on everything that you hold dear, that you'll follow through if it comes to that..."

Yuna remained silent for a moment. She reached out and grabbed the book - expecting some sort of magic barrier, but there was nothing. Yuna went to pull it to herself, but Itsuki didn't let go. He wouldn't until it was clear that she would play her part. 

Fortunately, Yuna seemed to sense this. As the gravity of the situation began to make sense to her, she became more stoic and focused. 

"Yes, Itsuki. I swear on your life and mine - I will see this done if need be."

Itsuki nodded in approval, smiling gently as he let go of the book. 

Almost instantly, a golden rune appeared on the ground and whisked Itsuki off to his destination. 

***

"Why are you acting like this, Itsuki?" Amane questioned the moment he appeared at the top of the tower. 

Itsuki took a moment to view his surroundings. The furniture had already been switched back to the old seating. Amane sat in an ornate white chair - a second chair sat directly across from her. 

"Being able to read thoughts must be a nifty trick," Itsuki theorized as he plopped down in the chair. "The best I can do is tell if someone's lying, but that doesn't apply to other God-Marked individuals..."

"You've come to the conclusion that I'm able to read minds?"

"I'm going to ask for one thing, Amane," Itsuki leaned forward and firmly locked eyes with her. "Don't pretend to be oblivious. I don't want to play diplomat with you. It feels wrong after all the times we spent hanging out as friends..."

Despite her powers and presence, his words seem to trip Amane up ever-so-slightly. For a split moment, her eyes glimmered in surprise. It was short-lived, but it was real.

"Yeah..." Amane sighed. "That's fine. We don't need to have this standoffish back-and-forth. It was never like that before all this."

"I agree," Itsuki spoke as he leaned back. "So, what happens now? You know my thoughts and plans, it seems. It's difficult to kill me, and you haven't thrown me out of the city, yet. Given all that, I assume you have something to say?"

What came next caught Itsuki off-guard. He expected stoicism, but Amane instead smiled and began giggling. 

"You really haven't changed all that much, have you?" she laughed. "You've always been so smart and strategic about things. The most complicated things are within your mind, but you have always been oblivious to some of the simple, little things..."

"Care to enlighten me?"

"You are wrong, Itsuki," she declared. "You might be right about my powers,  my scheming, and my desire to protect Evermere with all I have...but you are very wrong about my feelings towards you."

At that moment, Itsuki watched as the facade seemed to crack a bit. Amane's form trembled slightly, and her eyes began to tear up. She bit down on her lip as in an attempt to hold it back, just like she used to do in their home world. 

Itsuki's brain flashed back to their last hangout together before they were sent to the Fallen Lands. The entire experience caused him to lose his train of thought. 

"That day when you confessed to me at the arcade...I couldn't do it. I couldn't come to terms with how I felt. I know you, Itsuki, and I knew you weren't just asking to go on a couple of dates. If you felt that way about me, then I knew that you intended to see it through all the way. Imagining our lives together like that. Being by your side and supporting you and Shin however I could...that responsibility terrified me, and I ran from it..."

Itsuki looked away, growing a bit uncomfortable with the whole situation. Amane didn't want him to avoid it, though. She reached forward and grabbed his hand, drawing his attention back. 

"But since then, in these last four years...I've missed it so much! It became obvious how nice such a life would've been, but I was too stupid to see it until it was gone! I've been respected, praised, and worshipped by so many people, but all they see is their Goddess. You see me - for who I am - and you always did..."

She then let go of Itsuki's hand, sitting back a bit, but her eyes stayed focus on his. 

"That is why I want to marry you, Itsuki. Because I know what you wanted us to be, and I want us to be that too..."

After those words, she sat there in silence and simply waited. Itsuki wracked his brain, trying to figure out what to do on the spot. Amane seemed so genuine with her words. Was that how she really felt? Was it acting to get his attention? Would Amane do that? 

So many thoughts ran through his head. There was also everything with Yuna to consider, too...

"We spent time together for so long," Amane chimed in. "The three of us hung out for years, and we became so close. I learned and held onto so much about you. Is Yuna really that special?"

At least she was honest about the mind-reading this time. It didn't help Itsuki solve his dilemma, though. He felt suffocated knowing that his every thought was monitored, whether Amane meant to do it or not. He needed space, and time, to think. 

"Have your guards take me outside the clouds," he spoke as he thought. "Not far, and nowhere dangerous. Just far enough that I'm free of your influence. I need to think without worrying that I'm being monitored the whole time. It's too distracting..."

"Does it really bother you that much?"

"Yes!" Itsuki exclaimed, a bit louder than intended. "If I'm going to consider marrying you, then it needs to happen on my terms. I don't care who it is - I won't marry someone who I can't trust and put their faith in me..."

He waited for Amane's response. 

Surprisingly, it was a smile. 

"Very well. I know just the place you can go. My guards can escort you there, and Yuna can stay here in the tower..."

"Yuna will come with me."

Amane seemed less fond of that idea. 

"Do I need to worry about you not trusting me?" Amane questioned. 

"If you can read my thoughts, then you know I have no malicious intent," he declared. "I'm not scheming, I just want to think things through. In order to do that, I need to feel like both of you are safe. For you, that's here in the tower. For Yuna, I feel that will be wherever I am. Let's not be enemies in this..."

Amane pondered his words. It was so draining to have his mind be an open book and hers be hidden, but the situation wasn't going to change. 

"Fine," Amane said with a small pout. "The guards will escort you both out to a safe location, and will remain as protectors until you inform them that you've made your decision."

"Thank you, Amane."

With that, he took a deep breath and stood. He turned to leave the room, but Amane grabbed his hand just before he left. 

"Be careful," Amane pleaded. "It's been a long time since I've put my faith in anything. Please don't hurt me by betraying it - and make sure you stay safe out there..."

"Yeah.."

It seemed like an odd request, given the protection she was going to provide. Between Yuna and the guards, could something really go wrong that close to Evermere?

Yes, yes it could...