Unselfish Wish

Chapter 41- Requests Roll In and Lists Go Up

Amaterasu's office was a flurry of activity that evening and all the next day. By setting a limit on who could actually issue a proposal or challenge, she'd given herself a considerable amount of work in very little time. Thankfully, the wedding ceremony was all set thanks to Uzu. Susano'o was organizing applications and thanking whichever god was responsible for Tera's somewhat recent embrace of technology- computers. It meant he had spreadsheets to get things in proper order. Having to create such sheets by hand might have sent him into seclusion. He'd been nearly as pleased when they'd switched from inkstone and brush to modern pens. Much easier to read.

Susano'o wondered if half these kami had just plain lost their minds. Whether or not it was Fumiko herself that they faced, Tsukiyomi was going to know, and his wrath was something his brother just didn't think any of them wanted to face. It didn't matter that Fumiko was going to win every challenge and decline every suitor. Susano'o knew well his future sister-in-law. He also knew that it was likely Tsukiyomi would break into this office for the full list of the imbeciles that bothered to apply at all. Perhaps Tera should prepare for a mass funeral and reincarnation, he thought.

They barely ate and barely slept as they went through not only the challenges and proposals, but a number of complaints about the human girl. Some insisted she be tossed out, unworthy of any kami. Some said she should be forced to recolor her hair black upon ascension. Others felt that the arranged marriages must be reinstated, for how could their queen allow a human to marry above other kami? By the time everything had been looked through and entered into the database, Amaterasu had a raging headache.

"Good news, Tera. I've got our list ready to post." Susano'o grinned. "Sadly, Kuraokami is on both. He's totally going to get his ass kicked."

"Frankly he deserves it after his nasty attitude." Amaterasu snarked. Susano'o nodded.

"Ah, damn." He let out a harsh breath.

"What is it?" Amaterasu asked.

"Well, Amanozako is among the challengers, and I've got nobody I can get away with switching her for." He said, and Tera sighed.

"At least we know Fumiko can likely handle her." She sighed. "So, what's our final list look like?"

"Well, for challengers for the Kitsune, we've got Kuraokami, Tatsutahika, Kōjin, Ishikori-dome no Mikoto, and Amanozako. For courtiers, we've got Kuraokami, Tatsutahiko, Seidai Myōjin, Atago Gongen, and Amatsumara. Nobody she can't handle." He huffed, and Tera rolled her eyes.

"You know as well as I do that one-on-one, nobody can outdo her. Not even me. But I have to think about what our brother is going to do. Fumiko probably won't force their reincarnations, but he will. We both know he is ruthless when he wants to be." She sighed. "Well, let's burn these other requests so he can't make a hit list a mile long, shall we?" She said, and Susano'o giggled. She sent him a glare.

"What? If it was me, I would absolutely do the same. Threaten to steal my woman? No way." He smiled sadistically, and a small shiver ran up her back. Hopefully it would never come to that. They carefully burned all the paper. The only remaining list was one that Susano'o had printed out. This was the one that was posted around the palace. Many kami were looking forward to the challenge event, held in the arena of the palace, almost like a festival. The courting portion was to be conducted with Amaterasu's supervision in her receiving rooms.

Tsukiyomi and his bride-to-be? Not so much. They held each other, whispering words of love and encouragement and kissing for the evening after the announcement. They opted not to leave the room, taking their meal privately. Hinata and their friends, hearing what had happened, were outraged, as only modern humans could be. They were baffled at how calm Fumiko's parents were, but Aiko and Fumio had expected as much. Tsuneo and Tsukiko were beside themselves, wanting to meet the challenges themselves for their treasured goddess, but understood that she must do it herself.

Sarutahiko, Ame-no-Uzume, and Fumiko's grandfathers were occupied with keeping things fair along with the Seven Lucky Gods. It was a bit disheartening how many wanted in on gambling for the event or to throw the results. The betting alone was beyond belief. Even shrine jurisdiction was up for grabs. The major kami knew better, of course. They just shook their heads at the foolishness they were witnessing.

Kaya-hime was pleased. She was hoping that Fumiko would not survive Amanozako. The goddess was notorious for breaking rules, and would not play fair or hesitate to attack even if she was declared the loser. It was not very goddess-like of her to wish for such a thing, but when it came to her ambition for her daughter, there was nothing she would not do. She had grand plans once her daughter had the proper rank- she was planning to undo many of Amaterasu's modernizations. She did not realize that her plans were clear as day to those that mattered. None of the major kami would have anything to do with Ohoto, just because of her mother's ambitions.

Kuraokami was glad he was the top contender in both areas, though he was not happy about Amanozako. If she killed the demigod, he'd be facing yet more boredom and loneliness. It did not occur to him that Fumiko had a brain and a heart, both fully functional and devoted to Tsukiyomi. He thought she had just mindlessly given in to a god with stars in her eyes. In such a case, the god didn't matter, did it? Of course not! He was so confident that things would go his way, that he did not bother to train for the challenge nor did he bother to learn a thing about the demigod he was supposed to charm. Wave some gems at her and of course she'd be his. Let's just say, it had been some time since he'd wooed anyone, let alone someone that had the caliber of character that Fumi possessed.

The day before the challenges, Kiyo ported Fumi to his private training area. He had no doubt she would be fine, he wanted to make sure her body was focused and primed. The guardians had been released in human form and settled off to the sidelines to watch, or trade in for Tsukiyomi as needed. They would have liked to enter the challenge themselves, to court her one last time, but all knew it was futile. This moon rapscallion had a firm hold on their precious little goddess. They sighed in unison, then grinned at each other. It was still fun, after all.

They took brief breaks for snacks and lunch, training until nearly dinner time. As Fumiko stretched, no sweat or soreness in sight, Byakko walked up to Tsukiyomi, who watched her worriedly. He patted him on the shoulder. "Don't worry, Kiyo." He teased. "Our girl will be just fine. Even Amanozako will be no match for her, and our allies are making sure it's a fair match. We will come ourselves, to ensure proper security." He grinned as Tsukiyomi's jaw dropped. The beast gods rarely showed themselves in human form. For them to do so meant that Fumiko was indeed, very special.

That evening, they ate dinner again in their room, hidden away together. Tsukiyomi insisted on feeding Fumiko, much to her embarrassment. She could sense his worry over the situation. She also knew that no matter what platitudes she offered, he would not feel reassured until the event was over and her challengers vanquished.

As to the courtiers, she was uncertain other than that he was immensely jealous, and she knew she was going to have to intervene when he went to take revenge. And take revenge, he would.