[Himushi Redemption] The Warmth of Love

While Osamu and the others made their way home, Taeko and Tsukiakari took Magatori's body with them to the cemetery in the woods behind the neighborhood. The moonlight fell upon the land like an incandescent, blue veil. The wind moaned and howled as Taeko laid Magatori down upon the grass and poured holy water over his body. She clasped her hands together and then pointed her finger at the corpse. The holy water immediately bursted into blue flames, eating away at Magatori's body like a funeral pyre.

Taeko stepped back, watching the last remnant of Bishamon's accursed legacy turn into ash and blue embers. "This is it, the last of Bishamon's heirs."

"There were two more back then." Tsukiakari said. "It was the start of the massacre I went on. I murdered Bishamon's entire family. His wife, his infant son and daughter, even his brother-in-law."

"Neither of us made very good decisions back then." Taeko said. "What's done is done. At least we can both move on from this chapter of our lives now."

"...Taeko..." Tsukiakari sighed, taking hold of her hand. "I never stopped thinking about you. You were in my thoughts every single day. I always wanted to apologize to you. I wanted everything to be different. I just wanted to be with you again."

Taeko gazed into Tsukiakari's longing, scarlet eyes, her tears glistening in the moonlight. Taeko saw for herself the pain and guilt behind those eyes. The bitter memory of their fight to the death may have been hundreds of years away for Tsukiakari, but for Taeko, it was just a decade ago. Because she had skipped over hundreds of years of human history, some of that pain still lingered with Taeko.

"I'm still in love with you, Taeko."

Taeko released a heartbroken sigh, her warm breath made visible in the moonlight. She took out an envelope from her back pocket, her hands shivering as she extended it to Tsukiakari. Taeko's dread was palpable. Even in the night, Tsukiakari saw the color leave her face and her lips turn as white as the starlight dazzling above their heads. That envelope might as well have been Taeko's beating heart. Whatever contents it held, she had spent an enormous amount of time and emotion putting it all together.

"I wrote this a long time ago." Taeko said.

Tsukiakari took the envelope in silence, swallowing the lump in her throat.

"It's not pretty." Taeko warned, tears already shimmering in her eyes.

Still, Tsukiakari opened the envelope and unfolded the pages of tannish mulberry paper. She was immediately taken aback by the sheer volume of words jumping out at her from the pages. Taeko sat down, knowing full well it would take Tsukiakari a while to read through it.

"Dear Gekko..." Tsukiakari began. "It brings me both great elation and even greater pain to write you this letter, for if you're reading this, it means that I have managed to escape certain death and have survived in an entirely different time and era. It means that I not only bested you and avoided the bloodthirst of the Senkumo clan, but I have also fooled Bishamon, the gods, and the whole world into believing that Taeko Akiyama died centuries ago, and that Lucrezia, the famed exorcist, survived the Great Hanshin Earthquake and lives to this day. If you are reading this, it means that I have become the greatest trickster and the craftiest liar in the history of mankind.

"I am elated because you and I both, somehow, have survived the tempest of madness and murder that so defined our era. Through the mercy of the Shoku Twins and your mother, Amaterasu, you and I both can exist in the future. However, I fear that is where my joy crumbles and heartache takes its place. Our friendship meant the world to me. It defined me. And as much as I wish to rekindle the flame of our past camaraderie, I think you and I can both agree that far too much happened between us for you to expect a warm and easy reconciliation.

"There has been far too much rage, too many lies, and I'm sure you know all too well, far too much bloodshed. In my years with you, I experienced the color and cadence of your most genuine love, as well as the brutality and malediction of your most monstrous hatred. And in the time you and I have spent now, separate from each other, I've been afforded the sage wisdom of hindsight. I can look back on everything that happened now, my judgement without bias, and my bias without malevolence.

"If you are reading this, Gekko, surely you must know that as much as the words written here might pain you, it hurt me infinitely more to set them onto paper. Nonetheless, these things must be said. These feelings must be expressed before the silence strangles what little joy and love I still have in my soul, because for everything you and I have ever been through, for every tribulation we have both suffered, and for all the hatred you and I have spewed at one another and at the world at large, I refuse to live without love in my heart.

"I have watched my country burn to the ground. I have witnessed this nation's men of action commit heinous deeds to satiate their inexhaustable greed. I have watched men, women, and children die in one of the most pointless, aimless, and needless conflicts to ever disgrace our history. I have watched friend after friend leave this world in the most violent and revolting of ways. Many of our friends, as you may still recall, had their lives snuffed out by our very hands.

"You know already that I witnessed my father, a loving husband and distinguished deputy to the shogun, a man of high honor and even higher virtue, commit suicide before my very eyes. His blood pooled around his body and stained the tatami mats like a setting, red sun on the western horizon. And yet, the blood he paid, and the fact that his only daughter had witnessed the act, wasn't enough for the Ashikaga clan. They wanted my blood, Ebina's blood, and my mother's blood as well.

"You know already that the fear of being hunted by the Ashikaga, the fear of being unable to protect her two children after the suicide of her husband, horrified my mother so deeply that she saw no escape but through death. You know already that instead of killing Ebina and myself, I killed our mother, took Ebina, and ran. And I lied about it. For years, I deceived the person I loved most about what happened to our beloved and kind mother.

“I told myself that I lied to protect Ebina, who had such a sweet and delicate soul, one far too sensitive to handle the cruel darkness and senseless brutality the world had to offer, from the grief of knowing that her mother figure was going to kill her, that the only solution to our problem was family suicide.

"We barely survived on our own, Ebina and I. I did shameful things for food and drink. We slept in caves and stayed warm by campfires, the mosquitoes biting at our legs and necks eating far better from our blood than we did from our scraps and stale bread. And finally, you know that our life as vagabonds came to an end when we were accepted into the Senkumo clan. I still remember that moment quite well. I remember the exact way in which I wept as the soldiers draped a robe around my cold, dirtied body. I remember feeling as though my life had been saved, that this was the end of my misery.

"The fact that I endured that much pain prior to even joining the Senkumo clan and becoming your friend should be proof enough to you that I have always possessed the conviction to never live a single day on earth without love in my heart. It should prove to you, beyond any doubt, that I can still love a world that has taken everything and everyone from me. That love is what drove me to the Senkumo clan. It inspired me to fight so that our clan could build our ideal nation, a country where the froth and folly of lords would not exist, a nation where nobles would no longer throw the dice on the lives of innocents.

"My suffering at the hands of our world did not erode my love for it. It incensed me and inspired me to change it for the better. I was willing to bleed and die for it if my death would bring us one step closer to realizing our ideal nation. Gekko, surely you must know, my love for you was no less intense and no less genuine.

"My devotion to you was undying. I believe I have proved that as well. When our soldiers committed that grave atrocity in the village neighboring our base, I took over the responsibility of executing the men involved in the massacre. I razed the village and hid the bodies in the Katsura river, and when we discovered there were witnesses still out and about, I deployed with our black ops team to hunt them down. I even went as far saving our youngest target, a pregnant, eighteen year old girl, for my blade, to spare the men the torture of having to kill two young lives.

"When our base was ravaged with plague, I was the first to notice the infections and raise the alarm. I was the one who suggested, when we had exhausted all other options, that we burn down the medical ward with all of our infected men still inside. And was it not I that publicly took responsibility for the death of Ebina? Did I not go through the agonizing, soul-crushing process of torturing little Chiharu so we could find out who was responsible for that awful attack on our home?

"And when you cast me out of the clan for fault of my madness and mental degradation, was it not me who investigated the mass grave we dug for the villagers we killed? Was it not me who discovered that Bishamon was using you for ulterior motives? When Izanami's investigation all but failed, was it not me who sought you out and attempted to end our friendship without bitterness, remorse, or hatred?

"No one, not a single soul on this earth can ever deny that I lived every miserable day of our violent and sullen era with love in my heart. Love for my country, for my clan, my comrades, and most of all, for you. I refused to live without it, for I feared what would happen to my soul if I allowed hatred to fester where love once blossomed.

"You were different. You possessed a love just as intense as my own, but somewhere along the way, it morphed into the most hideous and malformed rage I had ever seen. You yielded without resistance to the Man in Black's will. You let your vendetta against him cloud your judgement. It is said that hatred blinds those who court it. If hatred blinded you, your pride sewed your eyes shut with threads of iron. Your vanity tore your kindness asunder and your shortsightedness transmutated your heart of flesh into a hollow crucible of lead.

"You were your worst self as well as your own worst enemy. You banished me and I loved you. You sided with the clan that wanted me dead and I loved you. You even hunted me down yourself, and yet I loved you. Even on that fateful night, when you and I dueled to the death, my final words to you before I departed were words of love. If you can remember that much, then surely even you cannot deny that I have never lived a single day without love in my heart. Even when your hatred costed me everything, I loved you.

"My heart was never the same after our duel. Never did I think you and I would be forced to fight, but fight we did. While my final words to you were of love, yours were of venom and rage. I watched you die. I watched until your final breath escaped your lips, and I couldn't stomach the sight of you.

“Your final attack, your last act of desperation and demonic rage backfired on you, and so the lightning strikes that you had once used against our enemies rebounded and struck you instead. Your skin bubbled and split open. The fluids in your eyes melted and rose from your sockets as steam. You were but a pile of burning flesh, and yet your bodily wounds weren't anywhere near as ghastly as your spiritual defects nor your intellectual degeneration.

"You were a monster and I loved you.

"I found it tragically ironic that, in the end, you became an instrument of the Senkumo state, forced to go against your own godly decency and moral compass, while I remained a woman bound only by the duties of my heart. Isn't fate a cruel author? The state truly did become god, while I unwittingly became a representative of the very state of nature, of man unleashed and unbound. I became what you dreamed of, while you became what you wanted to destroy.

"Even then, I loved you. When I was locked in Oyamatsumi's catacomb, my mind and body slowly rotting away, I agreed to be rescued by the Shoku twins because I loved you. I agreed to leave behind my era, my identity, and my very way of life because I loved you. And yes, it was because I loved you that I stole the identity and legacy of a famed exorcist for myself. Not once did it ever feel like my love reached you, mattered to you, even.

"Well, now do you see how much hatred blinds? I left that list of co-conspirators behind before I left with the Shoku Twins and traveled into the future. I left it behind because I knew you possessed enough love and decency to search for me, but that you also bore enough evil and hatred to take revenge upon the gods that wronged us so.

"For all of your shortcomings and sins I have highlighted in this letter, it would be nothing short of heartless for me not to admit my own. I used you. Through you, I exacted my revenge upon the gods. I did it because only you had the anger and hatred necessary to carry out such an ungodly and brutal massacre. It worked, didn't it?

"That was part of the reason why I chose not to reveal myself to you in this new era. My silence is my penance. Melancholy lashes my heart every time I see you, like a whip to a criminal's bare back, for I cannot tell you that Lucrezia is dead and it is I, Taeko, taking her place.

"As I said before, you and I both made terrible mistakes. We both wronged each other, used each other, and hurt each other. I played a titanic role in the mess we made in our bygone era, and for that, I wholeheartedly apologize. With all of my heart and soul, I am truly sorry for what I did to you.

"I've been spending the years here in this new era trying to set right what was left wrong by our folly in the Warring States. I chose to masquerade as Lucrezia not only for our similar physical profiles, but also for her rank and reputation within the Exorcist Program. For what I wanted to do, I would need their information, resources, manpower, and funds.

“I've been tracking our friend Inari for years. I don't know where she is at the moment, but signs suggest she's still alive. Surely, by the time you're reading this, I will have already freed Kagutsuchi from her curse and reunited her with Izanami, kept my promise to Satori, and somehow saved his sister from certain death.

"I suspect all that's left is finding Inari, and our group will be whole again. I can only hope that by the time you've read this, the hatred has long since left your heart, and we can start again without regret or bitterness. I firmly believe the first step to that is acknowledging the pain we inflicted upon one another.

"Even in this new era, I love you. If you take even one step towards me, I will take five steps towards you. If you are willing to acknowledge and forgive what I did to you and you to me, then I will forgive as well. Then, and only then, can the broken blossoms of our friendship bud anew.

"Yours truly, Taeko Akiyama."

Tsukiakari realized how narrow and sharp her breaths were as she read that letter. After reading the final words, she felt her lungs tighten and her throat sting. Taeko's letter said everything that needed to be said. Tsukiakari had no idea how she was going to navigate the gaping chasm in their friendship left behind by their mistakes in the Warring States era up until then, and it turned out that she didn't have to. Taeko's letter ripped off the band-aid and brute forced the issue with punishing honesty. It was exactly what needed to be said and Tsukiakari knew it.

"Thank you for writing this, Taeko." Tsukiakari cried, wiping the tears from her glistening eyes. "I agree with every word you wrote. You did live every day with love in your heart. I did hurt you, indescribably so, and you did the same to me. We both made dreadful mistakes. I'll be honest. It wasn't until Bishamon's death that I was finally able to let go of all the hatred that remained from the Warring States era. I held onto it for so long."

"What changed?"

Tsukiakari smiled. "Osamu, Yoko, and the others changed me. Having them at my side made me understand why you stood your ground against me all those years ago. Family is everything. Love is everything. That's why we fought to build a nation where the will of the state would not erode the individuation of its subjects. The spark of personal commitment and heartfelt conviction...that's what we wanted to protect."

Tsukiakari folded the pages of the letter and stuffed them back into the envelope, handing them back to Taeko.

"The hatred is long gone, Taeko. I forgave Izanami for her sins. I forgave Kagutsuchi for everything she did. I forgive you too. Most importantly, I love you, Taeko. I never stopped."

"Nonsense. You have a wife and a husband."

"I still thought of you. I missed you so much. I longed for you. And seeing you here in front of me now...is more than I can take."

"...I thought of you, too." Taeko admitted. "You, Izanami, Inari, and even Kagutsuchi. You guys were the reason I agreed to go with the Shoku Twins, to cheat death itself and travel forwards in time. The twins told me you were all still alive in the future, but that you had never found each other. I wanted to change that. I wanted you and Izanami to know what it was like to be in a family again. I fought like hell to make it happen."

"You're part of our family now." Tsukiakari said, caressing Taeko's cheek. "You were always a part of it. After Osamu helped me kill Bishamon, I swore to him that I would always be by his side, that I'd defend our family with my life. You're part of that promise, along with Yoko, Izanami, the twins, Kagutsuchi, Aika, Rei, and Amatsuki."

"And Inari."

Tsukiakari nodded. "After the massacre, Izanami took me in. She sheltered me during the final years of the Warring States era, and taught me how to live a normal, civilian life. There was something she told me when I didn't know whether or not it was worth living without you or the clan. She said that although people pass away and places may change over time, love is something that never dies. It reincarnates. It comes back to us in the form of new people, new places, new experiences, and a new understanding of ourselves. Love is always there, taking many different forms, working to make us whole again."

Taeko smiled. "That sounds just like her. She's right. Look what happened to us."

Tsukiakari bit her lip, stopping herself for a moment before asking the burning question sitting on top of her tongue. "Taeko...will you go out with me? I'd be the happiest woman on earth. I truly meant it when I said I still loved you. I want you to be part of our family, not just as my best friend, but as my wife, too."

Taeko's cheeks reddened as she took a step back. "Am I being proposed to right now?"

"I'll get on one knee if I have to!"

"...I'm not exactly the prettiest girl in the world, Gekko. The Shoku Twins were able to stop the Mu-Onna curse, but it still left my limbs pale."

Tsukiakari shook her head. "So what? Izanami's entire body is pale as death, and we all still love Izanami. Your heart has never been more beautiful. That's what matters to me."

Taeko chuckled. "That sounds like something you say to ugly girls to cheer them up."

"Huh?! No way, I'm being totally serious! You're fucking beautiful Taeko, inside and out!"

"Okay, okay!" Taeko snickered. "I get it, Gekko."

Taeko suddenly laid her hand around the back of Tsukiakari's head, pushing her forward. Before Tsukiakari knew it, Taeko's lips were wrapped around hers, their tongues brushing together in a surprisingly forward and aggressive kiss. It was as though Taeko had been waiting to hear Tsukiakari's confession for all that time.

The flustered Tsukiakari melted in Taeko's arms and returned the kiss with twice the amount of love and passion. At long last, after so many miserable years and bloody battles, after all of the tragedies and setbacks both girls had endured throughout their lives, their love was finally allowed to blossom.

"Oh...my goodness, Taeko. You're so aggressive..." Tsukiakari gasped, holding her hand over her fluttering heart.

"I'd been wanting to do that for a long time, Gekko." Taeko laughed. "I missed you just as much as you missed me."

"I, uh...I don't know about that." Tsukiakari nervously giggled, blushing.

"It's a competition now?"

"I, uhh...may have...you know...a few times..."

"May have what?"

"You know!"

"No, I don't know! Just say it, Gekko!"

"I can't say something like that in the middle of a cemetery!"

"We just made out in the middle of a cemetery!"

"Ah! Forget it! Let's go home!"

"Are you mad, Gekko?"

"No! Just hurry up, I'll tell you later!"

Truthfully, Taeko already knew what Tsukiakari was getting at, but she couldn't resist a golden opportunity to tease the former war goddess. With Himushi and Magatori gone, it certainly felt as though another great weight had been lifted off of everyone's shoulders. It was more refreshing than a splash of cold water on the face or a cool breeze on a hot summer's day. Of course, there was still the issue of finding Inari, but until they found further clues, no one could do anything about that just yet. All they could do now was rest and wait.

Tsukiakari and Taeko raced back home and kicked their shoes off at the door. As soon as Taeko stepped into the warmth of Yoko's home and caught a whiff of her aromatic cooking lingering in the air, all of her tension, stress, and thoughts faded away. Hearing the front door open and close, Yoko poked her head around the corner of the kitchen.

"Welcome back, you two! We're all in the kitchen! Dinner's ready!" Yoko cheered.

"Come on!" Tsukiakari urged, taking Taeko into the kitchen by the hand.

Sure enough, Amatsuki, Izanami, Shinju, Cyanide, and the Shoku Twins all sat at the kitchen island, each of them scarfing down a bowl of Yoko's red bean chili. The aroma that enticed Taeko wasn't just from the meat, rice, and onions in the chili, but also the chocolatey stout that Yoko added to the pot to enhance both the taste and the smell. It was enough to make Taeko's stomach rumble as she sat down at the island. Yoko served fresh bowls of chili to Taeko and Tsukiakari before fixing herself one and joining everyone at the island.

"See, darling? You didn't have to get your feet too dirty for this one." Yoko said.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. You weren't so bad yourself, Yoko." Osamu said.

Yoko smiled. "A wife has to have her strengths, right?"

"You look well for someone who took a blade to the gut, Cyanide." Taeko said.

"Yoko's chili brought me back to life!" Cyanide moaned. "Seriously, this is good stuff!"

"I'm glad you all like it!" Yoko sang. "So, did everything go smoothly on your end?"

Taeko nodded. "Yeah, everything is done. Also, I think Tsukiakari has an announcement to make."

Everyone put their forks down, eager to hear the surprise announcement.

"Right now?!" Tsukiakari recoiled. "I'm not mentally prepared!"

"Just say it, Gekko." Taeko laughed.

"Okay, here it goes. Taeko and I...are dating now!"

"Whoa!" Cyanide hollered.

"Congratulations, you two!" Omagatoki cheered

Everyone erupted into cheers and applause for Taeko and Tsukiakari, who were both embarrassed and pleased to see the news made them all so happy.

"Looks like you're really part of the family now, Taeko." Yoko said.

"About that, how does this whole thing work? I mean, you guys have some sort of harem setup, no?"

"Oh boy, here we go." Amatsuki laughed.

"Right, well, Gekko, Izanami, and Yoko are all my wives and I'm their husband." Osamu explained. "Of course, Gekko and Izanami aren't married to each other, since they're related. If you and Gekko decide to marry each other, we'd just welcome you into our household, I guess. You don't have to marry me or anything. We're just a family of people who love each other."

"It might be kind of weird if you and I married each other, seeing that we're distant relatives." Yoko said.

"Oh, are you bisexual, by any chance?" Taeko asked.

"Yes, actually. I'm married to Osamu, Izanami, and Gekko." Yoko said.

"This is by far the strangest set up I've ever seen..." Cyanide said.

"It's amazingly cute though!" Shinju chimed.

"Huh, I thought there was like a hierarchy or something in place, but it seems you guy don't treat each other like a pack." Taeko said.

"There was a time where it certainly felt like we did..." Osamu groaned, thinking back to the early days when the girls wouldn't stop trying to kill each other.

"At any rate, Taeko, I hope you and Gekko are happy together. Should you marry, you're more than welcome to live here with us." Yoko said.

Taeko bowed her head. "Thank you, Yoko."

It was a joyous night in Yoko's home. The food, company, and laughter lifted everyone's spirits after the long and arduous battle they had endured. After everyone ate to their heart's content and the dirty bowls were left in the sink to soak, it was time to bid everyone goodnight. Lucrezia took the wounded Cyanide with her back to the bookstore, the Shoku Twins went back to Izanami's shrine at the top of the hill, and Shinju went back to her bright orange house at the end of the snow-veiled street. Somehow, this adventure ended well.

Shinju kicked off her sandals the moment she stepped inside her house. She floated upstairs to her bedroom and fell face-first onto her bed. She was thoroughly exhausted. It was one in the morning, and Heaven's Police Officer desperately needed some much-needed rest.

But then her phone rang.

"Hello?" Shinju groggily answered.

"Shinju! Hey..." Osamu said.

"What's wrong? Did you forget something?" Shinju asked.

"No, no...I just...Shinju...that girl was your friend, right? Himushi? You looked down when you were leaving."

Shinju flipped over on her back, surprised at Osamu's perceptiveness. "Yeah...she was my friend."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Shinju hesitated, and Osamu nervously awaited her answer.

"Sure. Where should I start?"

"Well, how about when you guys met? Let's just talk about the good times."

"When we met? Gosh, I think I was maybe...seven? I was really little.

Shinju twirled her hair, smiling on the other end of the phone. "She was taller than me at the time. On the first day of exorcist training, she laughed at me, so I tackled her and gave her a black eye."

"That's how you guys met?!" Osamu recoiled.

Shinju laughed. "Yep! That's how we met! After that, I was forced to sit under a tree for the whole day, but she came and sat with me. She told me 'You throw a really good punch! Good job!'. She was actually impressed with my fighting abilities. Can you believe that?"

"I've heard of friendships starting out of fights, but man...that's kind of crazy."

"Yeah, I know. We hit it off after that. When we were twelve, we completed exorcist training and we were grouped up with Cyanide, Lucrezia, and a few others. From that young age, we all went around Kyoto, doing whatever the gods or Shinigami commanded us to. I really looked up to her, you know? Back then, she was like how I am now. She was me before I knew who I was. No, rather...I became her."

"Were you different back then? If you started a fight, you must've been more of a troublemaker as a kid."

"Yeah, I was a little difficult. Hanging out with Himushi is what changed me. She just had this aura around her, like when the moon has a ring around it. It was like she was blessed by a higher power from the day she was born. She was unbelievably beautiful and fair. Even though she was a bit of a problem child too, she learned the lessons of justice and virtue far faster than I did. As such, when we became teammates, she was able to guide me and keep me from making terrible mistakes. She always put people on the right path. If she were a compass, she'd point to the things that were best for you."

Osamu laid down with his back on the couch. "I see. So even the great Shinju had to learn what she knows now. The way you are, I was under the impression it was all natural for you. Cyanide even compared you to a species of Mayfly that dies five minutes after adulthood."

"He's not wrong. That was me back then. I do firmly believe that the fact that I became friends with Himushi is what saved me from becoming someone like Magatori. One wrong move, and I could've ended up just as disillusioned as him. Anyway, that's how we met, and that's how we continued until the day I thought she died."

"I'm sorry, Shinju. You lost a friend today. That's never easy."

"Yeah. You know that pain too. I've told you about Himushi, so how about you tell me about Isabella?"

"Hey, this isn't about me!"

"No silly, it's not! It's only fair we both get things off our chest."

Osamu sighed and traced his heart and mind back to when Isabella's laughter and antics filled the rooms of the house. "Isabella...she was my ex-girlfriend. We met and dated in high school. She was sunshine personified, really. She was strong in body and mind, she cared for other people, and she easily got jealous way too easily! But still, I kind of liked that about her. I think, in the same way you learned from Himushi, I learned from Isabella. I'm really just embodying her strength and her will to protect the things that were dear to her."

"She already sounds like someone I would've loved to meet."

"Oh man, don't even get me thinking about that. You two would've loved each other! I doubt you guys would've ever separated."

Shinju laughed. "Keep going. She sounds lovely!"

"Isabella...we all called her Izzy. I guess the biggest thing about Izzy was her heart. She truly had a heart like no other. Even when she found out she had cancer, she still stood strong in her spirit. She had a few moments of weakness, of course. She was a young girl realizing, day by day, that she was really going to die, and that she wouldn't be able to spend time with us anymore. Still, she made up her mind. She invited her parents here and had a ball with them as if she wasn't even sick. When they left, she called them and told them that she wanted to die in Japan and be buried back home in America."

"Wow...that really takes bravery..."

"Yeah, and bravery was something Isabella had plenty of. We spent her last days together. We were even able to throw her a party and give her a bunch of gifts. Even Rei was there. They had made up and decided to be friends. Yoko and I went through a lot of trouble for it, but we were able to get a photo of her brother and her from when she was little. Her brother served in the American military and was killed some time before her death, so it really meant a lot to her."

"Her sibling was in the armed forces? They both have my respect now!"

Osamu looked over at the pictures on the table, all of which had Isabella in them, posing and smiling with Yoko, Tsukiakari, Izanami, Aika, Rei, the Shoku Twins and Osamu himself.

"Yeah...I was with her until the very, very end. She died in the winter, two years ago now. We gave her a service here, and she was shipped back home."

Osamu wiped away the few tears that the memories brought him. "Ah, looks like I still get emotional over her."

"You really are a kind soul. I can see why Isabella loved you."

"Thanks, Shinju. So, feel any better now that you've heard me talk?"

"Hmmm....I just don't know...maybe I'd feel better if you sent me some nudes?"

"Absolutely not!"

"Come on, after everything I went through?! A girl could use some nudes right now, Osa!"

"See, there you go calling me Osa as if that'll win me over. No way."

"Are you telling me it won't? O...Sa...Mu?"

(It's kind of hot when you break it into syllables like that...but of course, if I say that, I lose.)

"Nope. Not one bit."

"Liar."

Osamu sat up, drinking his glass of cold water and putting it back on the coaster. "You know, someday, we're both going to die too. Though, I hope Cyanide is wrong for once, and we manage to live until we're old and dry."

"Yeah, I hope so too. Though, I also wouldn't mind it if you and I died together in say...a double suicide."

"A double suicide? I don't know if that sounds dark or romantic."

"I think its romantic! Maybe the coroners could get a laugh out of it too once they see my name."

"Oh really? Why's that?"

"You can write Shinju with the characters for 'Heart' and 'Inside', which are the two characters used to write 'Lover's Suicide'."

"I think that's the creepiest interpretation of a name I've heard since Omagatoki's!" Osamu recoiled.

Shinju laughed until she cried, leaving Osamu with a smile and a satisfied heart. "Oh man, your reactions can be priceless sometimes. Thanks, Osamu. I feel a bit better now. I'm actually feeling a little sleepy too. I was afraid I wouldn't be able to rest tonight, but you fixed that for me. Our phone calls are always magical."

"Yeah, looks like it's almost two o' clock now. We should head to bed."

"You're right, my prince. Well then, have a good night. Sleep well."

"Yeah, you too. Goodnight."

The call finally ended. Osamu turned off the tv and brought his water with him as he climbed up the stairs. The moonlight shined on the pictures of Isabella, and table they were set on.

"Lover's suicide, sheesh..." Osamu chuckled.
The next day, Osamu threw on his white hoodie and scarf and began making his way over to Shinju's place, marching through the snow-veiled winter wonderland that was his tranquil, empty neighborhood. His phone vibrated in his pocket as he walked.

"Who's texting me?"

Tsukiakari sent him a picture of Taeko on their doorstep, holding a bouquet of pink and blue hydrangeas with a radiant smile on her face. Along with the photo, Tsukiakari sent the accompanying text message, "Taeko is so sweet! She bought flowers for the whole family!"

Osamu smiled and replied, "Tell her I said thank you! She's so thoughtful."

Osamu suddenly felt someone bump into his shoulder. As he was about to apologize, he realized the person he bumped into was Cyanide. The unkempt exorcist wore a suit with the blazer undone and his hands in his pockets, smiling as he huffed and puffed his way through his eight cigarette for the day.

"Cyanide!" Osamu said.

"Yo, kid! How's it going?"

"I should be asking you the same thing! Are you all right? You were pretty banged up."

"I'm fine now. Besides, scars build character, so I don't really have a problem with it."

"That sounds beautifully philosophical and all, but is it really okay to be smoking too?"

"Don't be such a square, kid. We've only got one life to enjoy ourselves. It's not like they sell cigarettes in hell."

"Well...yeah, I guess you got me beat there."

Cyanide smiled. "Really though, thanks for your help. I can tell, Shinju has something to fight for now that she has you. Same goes for Taeko."

Cyanide took the cigarette out of mouth and whispered into Osamu's ear. "Oh, and why didn't you tell me you were living and married with all of those hotties? Are you really plowing all of them?"

Osamu crossed his arms and looked the other way. "Y-yeah! What about it?! I fully admit to being a Harem Hero!"

Cyanide laughed, though Osamu wasn't sure if it was with or at him. His laughs turned into coughs, prompting Osamu to rub his back to ease him.

"See? Told you not to smoke so much." Osamu quipped.

"Hah, maybe I should start listening to you then, know-it-all."

Cyanide straightened himself up and put out his cigarette. "Here, take this. It's my card. If you ever need my help, you can call me. If you can't reach me, just ask Shinju or Taeko to call."

Cyanide handed Osamu a business card with his contact info on it. Osamu gladly took it, sliding it into his back pocket. "Thanks, Cyanide. Much appreciated."

"Well, I'm off. I'm gonna go see if I can find some hot, shrine maiden babes of my own. There's something those pure girls, man. Anyway, see ya, kid."

"Yeah, see ya. Don't do anything illegal to those girls!"

"No promises!"

Cyanide waved and walked off, continuing his daily groove and letting the world move on. Osamu smiled and continued on his way as well, happy that he made another male friend. As he turned the corner, he saw Akatsuki and Omagatoki petting a black cat on the street. For some reason, the twins always seemed to attract one animal or another during their daytime strolls.

"Big Brother Osamu!" Omagatoki sang.

"I'm honestly surprised you didn't try to molest us, Big Brother Osamu." Akatsuki said with a dry tone.

"It's not molestation! It's love! Pure, true love!" Osamu protested. "Anywho, where did you find the cat?"

"It just walked up to us all of a sudden." Akatsuki said. "Sis and I are going to take him back to the shrine with us until we can contact the owner."

(Oh, that's right...)

"I've been meaning to ask you guys something." Osamu said. "You had to find a way to prevent the end of the world, right? Out of all the things you could've done, out of all the people you could've used, why did you choose Taeko? Wouldn't it have made more sense to just take out Magatori before the exorcists could even encounter him? If you had done that, Himushi would've never turned on the organization, which means Gekko would've never gotten killed."

"Sis and I don't kill." Akatsuki said. "We can't go back in time and murder someone. We have no authority to do so."

"We're also not very good at the fighting and the exorcist magic thing." Omagatoki giggled. "We would've totally lost against Magatori!"

"Besides, if we had done that, it still would've left multiple ways in which the world could've ended because of Izanami's wrath." Akatsuki added. "Kagutsuchi would've become a target to the exorcists and would've had her body dismantled again, which would've led to her becoming the Phantom Maiden yet again. If that had happened, Tsukiakari's life would've been in danger, just like it was back in the Warring States period."

"And there's still the whole Inari thing, as well." Omagatoki said. "Inari was a good friend of Gekko and Izanami. It would be terrible if something were to happen to her as well."

"Speaking of which, did you guys ever see what happened to Inari back in the original timeline?"

Omagatoki shook her head. "We only got as far as now before the world came to an end. Everything coming after this is completely uncharted territory to us. We have no idea what's going to happen with Inari. I'm sure she'll turn up eventually, though. Sightings of her foxes have been getting closer and closer to downtown Kyoto."

"That's probably going to be Taeko's last mission. Inari's the final piece of the puzzle, right? Everyone else has been reunited again." Osamu said.

"Yes." Akatsuki answered. "This is why we chose Taeko. Osamu, you have a reputation for being a mortal who's capable of defying your own human limits. You laid siege to Heaven, you helped kill Bishamon, you freed Kagutsuchi of her curse, and you even survived a dangerous journey into the Underworld. You tackle all of these challenges as if it were your destiny."

"Taeko is the same as you." Omagatoki added. "She was basically the Osamu of the Warring States period. The Senkumo clan expanded as much as it did because of her. The reason why all of know now that Bishamon had a ring of co-conspirators was because of the investigation Taeko helped launch with Izanami. And, even though they caught her in the end, Taeko was able to expose the identities of the gods that were abusing the Senkumo clan, leading to Tsukiakari's infamous massacre of her fellow gods. You could say that it was Taeko who really killed them."

"Jeez, I never thought of it like that. And that's not even mentioning all of the things Taeko was able to do in this time period." Osamu said.

"And besides, it is nice to see Taeko and Tsukiakari dating. Their relationship was torn apart during the Warring States era, but now they can have a fresh start. We've never been happier for them." Omagatoki said.

"You have a point." Osamu chuckled. "Those two are cute together. Oh, by the way, we're going to be having a holiday get-together on Wednesday, two days from now. You should come over!"

Omagatoki's eyes sparkled with joy at the mere thought of eating more of Yoko's cooking. "Of course we're coming over! We wouldn't miss it for the world!"

"I concur." Akatsuki said. "Please ask Yoko to make her white wine risotto as usual, please."

"Uh, sure, but you don't need to say please twice." Osamu said.

"Please, please, please." Akatsuki muttered.

Osamu sighed. "I'll ask. Don't worry about it."

"Anyway, we're going to take Mr. Kitty to the shrine now. See you later, Big Brother Osamu!" Omagatoki sang.

"Yeah!" Osamu said, waving goodbye. "See you two later! Be sure to skip breakfast on the big day!"

"We will!" Omagatoki assured.

The Shoku Twins teleported away to the shrine in a flash of white light. It was always a delight to see them, and after finding out that it was the twins that brought Taeko into the present, Osamu couldn't help but love them even more. He turned heel and continued marching down the street with a little more bounce in his step and more joy in his whistle.

(Thinking back, though I was stubborn at first, I suppose it is a good thing Shinju kept me out of this as much as possible. I was never supposed to get involved with the supernatrual in the first place, but I always crossed that line whenever I had the opportunity. With Izanami, Tsukiakari, the Shoku Twins, Kagutsuchi, and even Shinju, if she counts. It got me thinking...perhaps there is a line between being a hero, and simply weaving the threads of your own demise.

(In the end, I'm just an ordinary man with extraordinary wives and friends. Shinju just doesn't want me to throw my life away, like she almost did with her own youth, and like what Himushi unfortunately did as well. It's a lesson that will take some time, as every hero feels a bit awkward once the cape is off his shoulders. But, I think, with some time, I can learn to let it all go.)

Osamu approached Shinju's call box and was immediately buzzed in through the game. Approaching her front door, he heard noises inside, unusual since Shinju lived by herself. Shinju suddenly ran to the door and flung it open, the tip of nose covered in cookie batter.

Shinju held up a hot, freshly baked, chocolate cookie. A smiling Kagutsuchi also greeted Osamu at the door, wearing an apron splattered with chocolate.

"Kagu!" Osamu sang.

"Hey Osamu! We made cookies!" Kagutsuchi said.

"Kagu offered to come over and make some cookies with me!" Shinju laughed. "We're doing a quick test run before we bring these over on Wednesday!"

"Try it, try it! Give us your honest opinion!" Kagutsuchi urged.

Shinju handed Osamu a cookie, prompting him to take a bite. He was immediately blown away by the crunchy exterior and soft, chewy interior of the cookie. The chocolate chips practically melted in his mouth, making him nod his head in complete approval. Shinju and Kagutsuchi both jumped and cheered at the same time, like two kids told they were going to Disneyland.

"Yes! I finally got them right!" Kagutsuchi cheered.

Shinju grabbed Osamu by the wrist, smiling and laughing with her spirit back in a high place. "What are you waiting for? Come in! We made dozens of them!"

Osamu erupted into laughter, his eyes filled with tears of amusement. "Oh man, dozens?! Why did you guys make so many for a test run?"

And so, Osamu was dragged inside, and that cold winter day got a little warmer with smiles that were precious to him, and cookies that were made with the love of the heart.

(I learned something else too. It's a lesson that Shinju learned long before me. To save you a long, philosophical monologue, I suppose I can just say this. We all make due with the cards we're dealt, whatever they may be. Right now, the cards I have been dealt are common humanity, uncommon wives, and even more uncommon friends. I could never even dream of tossing away the few cards I have in this life. Each and every one of them are enough for me.)