Unselfish Wish

Chapter 20- Why Keep Fighting?

He sighed, running his hand through his hair.

"Fine, I'll tell you. I love you. I always have, in fact, I came here for you. Happy?" She hugged him again, snuggling his chest. He pushed her away, wagging a finger at her. "No, no, no. You can't do that. My feelings aside, the bigger problem is Tsukiyomi." She grasped his arm.

"There's nothing I can do about my feelings for Tsukiyomi. All I can do is concentrate on my growing feelings for you. They're already there, Kiyoshi. I can't be without you. I do know that. When I thought I'd never see you again, I was so incredibly sad. Please, help me."

"Argh. Fine. I still don't like it. What if I told you to abandon Tsukiyomi?" He knew this was cruel of him as well as he knew her answer. She, as expected, shook her head.

"I'm sorry. That's something I can never do. I just can't. Please understand."

"Alright, I get it. I'm sorry for pressuring you." He leaned forward and kissed her forehead, stroking her hair. "Then, can I call this dating?" She looked up at him, smiling. The storm had settled down to a misty rain.

"Yes, yes of course." He kissed her again, this time much more gently. They looked at each other, and oddly, began to laugh.

"Uh, there's something I should probably tell you." He said.

"Oh? What is it?" She tilted her head.

"Well, the thing is, I already asked your parents for permission to marry you." He scratched the back of his neck bashfully. She stared at him. Her aura softened and almost looked rosy. "So, it's not just dating. I want to marry you. And they agreed as long as you do. Will you... marry me?" It wasn't how he'd planned to ask her- not at all- but he knew it was the right time.

"Of course, Kiyoshi." They kissed again, chastely. She suddenly realized that they were in a severely compromised situation and turned red. He also had a similar realization and quickly stood up, then left the room. He went and found some of Fumio's sweats and dressed himself before going back to her room. He knocked and she bade him enter, now wearing a robe over her nightgown and sitting on her window seat. On his way back to her, he had produced a pair of rings, made of jade. His was carved with dragons, and hers with cherry blossoms. He knelt before her, taking her left hand. He placed the ring on her, then handed her his. She placed his ring on him, and they held hands for a moment.

He stayed kneeling and looking up at her for several, minutes, their eyes saying everything while their mouths said nothing. The air around them vibrated with energy, though they did not seem to notice. Susano'o, peeking from the door yet again, sighed. As intriguing as the girl was, she was definitely his brother's partner, his equal even. This was a tall task that even Amaterasu had struggled to maintain. The fact that they had loved each other as family and not the way the rest of the gods pushed them to had doomed them in marriage.

Modern humans would never understand the relationships of primordial beings. Sibling marriage was such a taboo in modern times, but in ancient times there was frankly a limited pool of options. Not to mention, gods and goddesses are unaffected by inbreeding. That being said, once it was Amaterasu's decision on marriages within Takamagahara, she'd made sure to add the element of choice. When you live for eternity, the best thing you can do is be married to someone you actually like. It's still a somewhat limited pool, and everyone knows each other on some level, even with thousands of minor kami and Yokai. The non-violent and reasonable Yokai were welcomed in Takamagahara. There were still siblings that married, but they were usually at least a millenia old, typically. Younger kami mirrored their more modern human couterparts.

Susano'o shook his head at his brother's current situation. It was unlike Tsukiyomi to be anything other than cold, precise, and confident. This new side of him, tender and gentle, would shock most of the gods and goddesses that knew him, Who knows, perhaps Ukemochi would have survived the first time had she been his wife. No... If Tsukiyomi hadn't killed her, Susano'o would have. Her method of producing food from within her body was revolting, to say the least, and everyone felt the same way, they just didn't want to go against Amaterasu at the time.

"I'll stay in the guest room tonight, since after all that happened today, I don't think that you should be alone." Kiyoshi announced.

Susano'o smirked from the shadows. Silly brother.

"Why not stay with me here? We are... affianced right?" She blushed, hesitant to ask the question, but to be honest, it was less about physical contact and more about simply being near him. He understood that this was where her mind was going, but... Woman, you are severely testing my patience and fortitude, he thought.

Susano'o wanted to laugh. Clever girl, he thought. Bring him to his knees so he can understand the rest of us a little better.

"Fumiko, if I were to do that, there's no way that I could keep my hands off of you. All of you. Understand?" She blushed, indicating that she did, and she nodded. They parted ways for the evening.

Kiyoshi glared at Susano'o when he entered the hall, annoyed that his brother was snooping yet again. Susano'o grinned at him, dancing away as Kiyoshi tried to smack his arm.

"What are you still doing here, you creeper?" Kiyoshi growled.

"Just making sure you didn't, you know, need some help." He waggled his brows suggestively. Kiyoshi rolled his eyes. He knew his brother was wildly experimental, most likely out of boredom, but Kiyoshi himself had never been able to share, and he'd never dabbled with males. He'd rather be celibate. Not that he begrudged his brother his experimentation, it just wasn't his thing. For sure, someone like Fumiko was in no way the type to share either. An image flashed through his mind of his human self and his true self with her, but he shook his head. Susano'o, seeing the flush on his brother's cheeks, quirked a brow. "Annikiiiiii. What were you just thinking, you dirty old man." Kiyoshi smacked the back of his head.

"None of your business. I swear you're the god of perverts." He snarked. Susano'o giggled, trying not to wake up Fumiko. Explaining his presence would be beyond complicated.

"I'm fine with that. I have more fun than you do most of the time anyways."

"Have you told Amaterasu yet?" Kiyoshi asked him. It was Susano'o's turn to blush.

"Tell her what, exactly, Anniki?" He hedged. Kiyoshi sighed.

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe about the s****l tension between the two of you that's like a volcano?"

"Ohhh right. That. Nope." Kiyoshi sighed at him. "Don't start with me, Anniki. There is no way she wants to hear about my five hundred years of unrequited feelings. I already know the first thing she's going to ask me."

"Oh?" Kiyoshi quirked a brow. Susano'o's shoulders slumped.

"Yeah. She's going to ask why I flirted with everything that moved if I liked her so much."

"Probably a fair question, don't you think?" Kiyoshi said as he crossed his arms.

"You're probably right. I'll think about it, okay? I better go. Talk soon, Anniki." And with that, Susano'o was gone, teleported off to who knows where. Not far, as he was here for a specific purpose, but gone for the moment.

In the morning, Kiyoshi had breakfast ready when Fumiko came down (rabbit familiars did the work). She smiled. The sun was shining brightly, not a cloud in the sky. They ate silently, looking at each other every so often. They walked to school together. When the others saw them, they knew something was different. Then they saw the hands. Not only had they walked together, they were holding hands. Hinata and Atsushi smirked, Kaori and Yutaka smiled happily, and Sayuri simply bowed shortly.

Rika and Mitsuru, who observed this, smiled at each other, glad the two had finally become a pair after nearly a year. They themselves were happy in their way. They butted heads frequently but in the end, always worked it out.