Legacies of light

I spent the rest of the day with them getting to know my little sister Suzuka, but when everyone went to sleep, I snuck out to go find someone. Walking into her inn, the first person I see is granny Osaki, and when I see her I run up furiously and say, “Why aren’t you helping your family at all.”

“Watch your tone boy, I tried to help those two repeatedly, but they have rejected it.”

“They told me you asked them to give up Suzuka; we know they could never do that.”

“Are you just as stupid as the rest of them, that girl has no future in this country, can you not see that.”

“We could try and look for other options instead of just giving up on her.”

“I thought you would have grown in these last two years, but it seems I was mistaken. This conversation is a waste of time I am done here,” she says walking away.

“Granny Osaki, I always thought you were kind of mean but you did it out of love. I never knew you were such a coward, as to abandon your family out of fear of the people around you.”

Turning around, she walks up to me and picks me up by the collar, then says “Then since you’re so smart, tell me all the other options we have right now, come on.”

I don’t respond.

“See, nothing, because those are all your possible options nothing. Let me tell you something none of you seems to realize, when that girl turns fifteen they are cutting off her head it is a national priority.

So, unlike the rest of you, I fully understand there is nothing we can do for her; the only thing staying with her and giving her love will cause is to make her send-off from this life even worse, as her grandmother that’s the best I can do for her.”

“You rationalised that really well, do you even have a heart.”

With tears in her eyes, she says “Shut up you dumb brat,” while throwing me on the floor. “First, I lost my husband now I have to face the reality that I have to lose the rest of my family as well.

Regardless of whatever we do she will die or become a murderous monster, so as her grandmother and Inari’s mother, I am trying to do my best to make sure our family will make it through this.

But none of you idiots seems to understand that, Inari and Kuzanoha's lives are over; you don’t know how deep-rooted the hatred in this nation for norowareta-kos is, that’s why you can say all this nonsense with a straight face.

They choose to stay with her even if she was to die, and society will never forgive them. To the people of this nation loving a norowareta-ko is the same as saying you don’t care what might happen to everyone in the country, no in the world.

So continue to be stupid like your parents, but when it all comes crashing down and those two have nothing left, all I can do is take care of them.”

Seeing my invincible grandmother cry, all I could do was take her words and walk away.

Φ I crouch down and cry unable to stop.

“You have always been pushing yourself too hard since you were a kid.” I hear Zashiki say as she sits beside me.

“Be quiet, you prehistoric fossil.”

“Oh, your slipping Osaki, after all those hours me and your mother spent drilling those manners into you.”

“I don’t have time for you right now so please just leave me alone.”

Giving me a hug, she says “Ever since you were a child you have always tried your hardest to make everyone happy at the sacrifice of yourself. It is one of your best traits, though I wish you would be a lot more selfish. Because I am sure if you told your husband how much you hated him being in the twinstars he would have quit.”

“I could never do that, he was the happiest fighting for everyone.”

“That’s my issue you brat.”

“I don’t want to hear that from you hag.”

-Break-

Φ The next morning I left back for the capital with a heart full of confusion, though one thing that cleared it was Suzuka, seeing her smile me goodbye gave me strength.

When I returned to the capital I worked even harder than I ever did before. I took on ever-increasing missions and when I did, I sent all my wages back to the Gozens. I was getting stronger, and slowly but surely I was rising through the ranks.

But it wasn’t all good, people found out about my connection to the Gozens and that I was sending them money, which made them focus all their hatred for the norowareta-ko on me. I lost my friends, and all my respect and lots of people started to pray for my downfall.

Though this didn’t bother me at all, the news I heard of how Suzuka was doing gave me the strength to push past all of this and eventually, I even started to receive do recognition, and in five year’s time, I was brought to the position of an A1 rank shaman.

I was so proud of myself for all I had accomplished, but still, that year was the worst of my life; the first mission I was given as an A1 was the mission to confiscate Suzuka Gozen from her parents. Apparently, the legacy she had been granted was that of the fox that cursed the nation, so she and to be taken to the capital immediately.

I was there as we ripped her away from her crying parents, I had to hold both Inari and Kuzanoha back while they were screaming for her, my heart was slowly breaking.

When they took her, they left me and some other shamans, to investigate the area in case Suzuka had some kind of effect on this city. So, I spent my entire time there calming both Inari and Kuzanoha down, and when I returned to the twinstars building in the city, the other shamans to me complained about my actions.

“What the hell are you doing.”

“I am sorry, come again”

“You’re the leader of this unit, yet you're fraternising with the enemy.”

“I am sorry isn’t it the job of the twinstars to look after citizens”

“Not those two, they choose to keep something that could put all our lives at danger.”

“That thing is my sister you bastard.”

“Do you know how many lives she could take, does your head not work.”

I hit him in the face, then I say, “Watch your tone don’t forget I outrank you and was left in charge of this mission. THE SAME GOES FOR ALL OF YOU. So, if you guys don’t feel like following your orders leave. Nothing to say GOOD!”

Walking away I hear someone whisper, “How the hell is some young brat like him in charge of us.”

I stop and say, “It is simple, because regardless of my age, I have achieved more than any of you guys have, so if you don’t want to keep following my orders simply go achieve something instead of sitting on your asses complaining.” With that, I left.

Over the next few days, I made sure to constantly pay visits to mom and dad, I talked to them and informed them of some recent things anything I thought could make them happy. Though the other twinstars were very visibly mad at my actions, still they were all bark no bite.

One day during my visits with mom and dad, Inari asked me “Shinkō do you still love Suzuka knowing everything about her.”

“Of course, from the bottom of my heart, and don’t worry about her I will use my authority however I can to get her back.”

“Thank you for that Shinkō in that case we have something we would like to show you; can you come back later tonight?”

“I will”. Later that night I got up ready to go see them, but when I did I heard a large amount of noise outside, so I head out to see what is going on, and when I do I see a large crowd of civilians heading back from somewhere.

Stopping in front of them, I ask, “What are you all doing,” but they go silent in return, and have a panicked expression like I just walked in and saw them with their pants down.

Then the group of the shamans that came with me walked through the crowd and said, “Everyone go home, and remember none of you did anything wrong.”

“What the hell is going on.”

“Is that an Order?”

“YES!”

“Ok then follow me.” As we walk into the woods at night, we move close to the shore where he asks me “Captain can you tell me what are the worst crimes you can commit in this country.”

“Any form of insult or offence against the shoguns family and,” but then what he was getting at hit me which causes me to stop.

“And getting a norowareta-ko out of the country both of these crimes are an immediate execution, and the Gozens seem to have been plotting to get their monster out of this country.”

“Huh.”

“They had been cultivating a ship spirit to get them out of the country. The people of Higashinagisa-shi had been watching them closely and thought their actions were strange, but they were too scared to approach so we went and checked and by the port is a ship spirit. This was all the evidence that we needed, so all of us confronted the Gozens then we executed them their bodies are over there.”

Enraged, I almost attack them, but then I remember Inari’s words and stop myself.

“Captain don’t go around doing scary stuff like that, almost attacking us when what we did was allowed by the law. Those two would have destroyed countless lives, and now we saved them, we protected not only this country but everyone around the world we are heroes,” He says as they walk past me. “I think this will earn me enough merits.”

After they walk past, I realize something and say, “There is no way you weaklings could ever kill sensei, so how did you beat him.”

“Simple, we took his wife hostage.”

Hearing this, I cut off his head.

“What are you doing you, bastard.”

“You just killed him.”

Before the rest of them have a chance to draw their swords, I attack and kill one after another. When I finish, I walk up to where they said Inari’s and Kuzanoha’s bodies were left. Seeing them I throw up, but I make sure to bury both of their bodies. Sitting beside their graves all I could do was cry.

Everything moved rather quickly after that, I buried the bodies, then made up a fake story that a minus killed them. It was a farfetched one, but people believed it because they thought Suzuka had some influence on the minuses. Since I had no reason to stay, I went back to the capital.

I had lost my principles, my family, and my drive I didn’t have anything left, especially when I learnt there was nothing I could do for Suzuka. All I had left was anger, so I used that to exorcise minus after minus for the next four years and was even eventually made one of the nation's eight S-rank shamans, one of the tails.

But yet again life hated me, and I was tasked with the mission of looking after Suzuka Gozen, who will be returned to Higashinagisa-shi. I was dispatched there early, where I went to meet Osaki.

“My son would sadden, to know you turn into smoker.”

“Is that really the first thing you say to me, you never change.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” Osaki says as she starts smoking.

“Never took you for the type.”

“I don’t really have anything to live for anymore, so I decided to pick up smoking again can’t be that bad.”

“Then why haven’t you given up on life.”

“I would never be able to look my family in the face if I did.”

“I feel the same.”

“So instead of this leisurely chat, can you tell me why you really came here.”

“You really can’t be gentle.” Letting out a sigh, I say, “I think, I am not going to talk to Suzuka.”

“I thought you would be ecstatic to be with her again.”

“Sorry, but I am not that young man you once knew, I don’t dream like that anymore.”

“You have finally coped on and given up I see.”

“You know, when I was younger, I actually thought if I was to climb the ranks of the twinstars and become strong enough to be able to deal with Suzuka, I would be able to convince everyone to let her live. I wanted to become some sort of hero.”

“Why did you give up on that then.”

“Simple, I don’t think that power exists. The other S-rank shamans have more strength than I thought was humanly possible, I could never reach that level. Yet all of them are completely frightened by her. It wasn’t until then that I could fully comprehend how much danger she poses.”

“So now you don’t want to interact with her out of fear.”

“It is not that, I understand that she has to leave this earth, and if I was to come into her life, it could make her experience leaving much worse. What an asshole I am.”

“Welcome to adulting.”

When Suzuka arrived, I was shaken by the completely desolate look she had on her face, it was as if she had given up on everything in life. I wanted to say something to her, but I couldn’t bring myself to so I just decided to watch her from afar.

I brought her meals which I put my heart and soul into. I try to make it just like Kuzanoha, but it was still inferior. I spent my days watching from the treetops as she cried, then drew, then sleep, then cried, again and again, and when she kept screaming her hatred for everyone all I could bring myself to do was watch.

Even when she started to fight minuses every night, almost pushing herself to her deathbed all I did was watch. Seeing this my heart almost broke, I wished for everyone and everything to be destroyed. And when that happened and that minus formed all I could do was watch from afar as it destroyed the city. If this is how she wanted to go out I would let her.

I watched all her actions from afar so right now what I am doing is very self-serving but it must be done. Seeing the three boys and Zashiki escaping with Suzuka I say, “Did you guys know that the reason her parents died, the reason she was cursed, the reason all the norowareta-kos had to die, the reason people loath them, and the reason minuses kill people, in this nation are all due to things we had zero control over.

That fox did something all those years ago which dictates the lives of people today, and we all have to live with it. And maybe someone did something to it, which caused it to curse our nation.

My point is that all humans are connected, and are actions have consequences which fall on each other like curses, something I do today could lead to the death of someone’s family elsewhere in the world.

I know full well what curses can do to people so I won't let you go with that girl, give her here now, it is time for her execution.”

Walking over to them, the boy with white hair says to me, “That’s true but so is the opposite; every life can be the accumulation of all the different blessings people have received, my very life could exist thanks to someone being nice thousands of years ago. You say we pass down curses, but I believe the fact that we still are all alive on this planet means that the blessings outweigh the curses.”

“That is a rather optimistic way to look at it.”

“Someone once told me you should look at life through a romantic lens, because you will have more fun that way.”

That is so extremely stupid and optimistic, but I am sure that is what Suzuka needs in her life.

Φ The man in front of me Cyrus and Sparrow vanish. Then I hear him behind me. How the hell did he manage that. “If she ever is unhappy for any reason from this point on, I will kill you. Remember that brats.” And like the wind he vanishes.

“You dumb kid,” I hear Zashiki mutter. “Let’s go guys.”

We run at full speed until we reach a large ship. “Zashiki, what is this.”

“A spirit ship; it is a memento from two idiots which was taken care of by a stupid kid.”

As we load ourselves up on this ship, Zashiki says, “This runs on spirit energy with Suzuka you can use it to take you anywhere you want.”

Looking down at her, I say, “Thank you so much.”

“No thank you, and just so you know, countless hopes and dreams are riding on you, so you better not let us down.”

“I promise I won’t. Goodbye.”

“Goodbye”, with our final goodbyes said the ship takes off.

Twinstars Break Down

The twinstars are the police force of the country but also the army, they do tasks such as helping schools out to fighting wars. They are the pride and joy of the Seirei. Their uniforms are mainly bright red but are partially pink with white curved comma-shaped bead designs throughout the uniform.

The twinstars can be broken down into four ranks: A, B, C, D. These can be further divided into three sections from one to three. So, the lowest ranking members are D3 samurais and the highest would be A1.

There is one more rank, S. This is a ranking that can only be given by the shogun of the country and only eight people can ever hold the rank at one time.

In the twinstars samurai are considered to be anyone from D3 to D1, while shamans are anyone higher. Upon reaching C3 if you don’t have a spirit partner (A family heirloom) you will be given a D or C rank one.

Twinstars are all required to wield katanas but the higher-ranking member can do what they want as long as it works.

Name: Shinkō Date

Age: 29

Birthday: Cancer 2nd

Hair: Orange

Eyes: Gold

Height: 172 cm

Likes: Family, cigarettes, alcohol, fighting, cooking

Dislikes: People, liars

Arc 5 End