After the chess match, Kagutsuchi sat on top of the dining table of Osamu's room, swinging her legs with her lips tucked in. Kagutsuchi being butt naked was quite distracting, so Yoko lent the goddess a pair of underwear and denim overalls. The girls all gathered around Osamu, anxious to hear what Kagutsuchi told him.

"Hot damn, you got her to talk, Osa? What did you do, you beast? Did you tie her up all fetish-like?" Tsukiakari teased.

Osamu kept a neutral face, as he was not amused by Gekko's words. "No, stupid."

"Oh I get you! I bet you bent her over on the table and gave her a good old fashioned spanking!" Tsukiakari sang with a wink.

"Wrong again." Osamu groaned. "Want to keep guessing or can we move on with the plot?"

"Fine, dick!" Tsukiakari hissed. "So, what did you find out?"

"Well, it seems my guess was right. She is a deity after all. She said her name is Kagutsuchi."

Tsukiakari and Izanami snapped their gazes towards Kagutsuchi, both of them looking upon her in utter disbelief. They stepped closer to get a better look at her, scanning everything from the top of her head to the nails on her toes. Izanami froze in place, shivering uncontrollably. The name itself seemed to have such a powerful effect on her. Her eyes widened and her pupils shrank as if she was looking at a ghost.

"Holy shit...Kagutsuchi?" Tsukiakari uttered. "Is that really you?"

"Huh? I don't...what is it? Is she that special?" Osamu questioned. "I mean, I know she's one of your friends from a long time ago."

"You don't know the half of it." Tsukiakari said. "I once knew her as the Phantom Maiden. She was like a ghost. She haunted me and my clan for years, even brought some of my worst enemies back from the grave. In fact, she was the one that resurrected the Man in Black."

"She did all of that back then?" Osamu asked, his mouth agape.

Tsukiakari nodded. "Most importantly, she's..."

Yoko noticed Izanami hadn't said a word. "Izanami, are you okay?"

Izanami stepped stormed forward. She pulled Kagutsuchi off of the table by her hand and slammed her against the wall. Kagutsuchi was completely caught off guard. She was paralyzed on the spot, her eyes fearfully darting across Izanami's crying face.

"Izanami!" Osamu shouted.

"What are you doing?!" Yoko cried.

"Kagu..." Izanami cried. "I searched for so long. Where were you? Why didn't you come home? Why did you do all of those terrible things to Gekko, and to Satori, and to me, your own mother?”

Yoko covered her lips with her trembling fingers. She didn't know what to say or even what to react to first.

"Izanami...this girl...she's your daughter?" Osamu asked.

Kagutsuchi screamed and broke away from Izanami's grip before barging out of the room. For a split second, as she ran out of the door, Osamu saw Kagutsuchi's hair flicker as it was enwreathed in flames. Izanami was left crying on the floor with her heart in pieces and her face stained in tears. Tsukiakari got her back up on her feet and guided her to the beds so she could sit down.

"No way...Kagutsuchi is her daughter?" Osamu repeated, still unable to believe.

"Now that I think about it, I believe there was a Kagutsuchi named in the Nihon-shoki." Yoko said. "If I remember correctly, Izanami was burned to death by Kagutsuchi after she was born. Izanagi did his best to take care of her, but she died. After that, Izanagi beheaded Kagutsuchi..."

"Damn it. That just raises more questions instead of answering them." Osamu said. "If Izanami had already died back then, and Izanagi hated her enough to behead her, who kept her alive? A god needs prayers in order to reincarnate."

"There was someone else...maybe another sibling..." Yoko surmised. "It's probably best to ask Izanami once she's calmed down. I'm sure seeing her daughter after so many years was a huge shock for her. Osamu, go find the girl and make sure she doesn't do anything dangerous. She's too unpredictable to be left alone"

“All right. I can do that. Oh, and Yoko?"

Yoko turned back around, staring Osamu in the eyes. "Yes?"

"I haven't said it since we got here, so make sure to pass this along to those two as well, but...I love you."

Yoko smiled and winked. "I'll pass it down to them. I love you too, Osa."

Osamu ran out, checking every room for Kagutsuchi. He ran by all of the stained glass windows and Hindu statues that lined the wall as he frantically opened and closed each and every door.

(Her daughter...was the first to kill her. First her mother, god knows who else in between, and now, the most recent case, Satori.)

Osamu finally entered the right room. It was a large, circular, pure white room with a white couch and table, and an empty, white picture frame hanging above the couch. Kagutsuchi sat alone on the floor, naked and afraid. At the same time, she had brought out some cans of paint and a blank canvas. Yoko's pair of denim overalls lied on the ground next to her, blackened by soot and burn marks.

(I see...she's trying to distract herself.)

"Hey...Kagutsuchi...is it okay if I call you Kagu?" Osamu asked.

No answer.

"Listen, I can't say I know too much about your relationship to Izanami, but...Izanami is a good girl. She's very kind and sweet, and there isn't a single person in this world that she hates. She's just not the kind of woman to harbor hatred in her heart. I think her reaction was born out of shock, and perhaps a bit of despair. She doesn't hate you. I know that much about her."

"I didn't recognize her at first...but she's my mom...and I killed her..." Kagutsuchi wept. "Father hated me too, so why wouldn't she?! It's not my fault I was born this way! I don't want to hurt people! I'd do anything to be able to hug my mom and kiss the man I love but I can't! It just hurts them! All I can do is run, Osamu!

(Why...of all things...are Satori's words ringing in my head...)

"Kagutsuchi...you always have a choice. Those choices may not be easy or practical, but you have them. Maybe you can't express your love to them physically, but you still have your words! That silence of yours is taking away the only thing you can touch the people you love with!"

Kagutsuchi had no rebuttal. "I'm sorry. You must hate me too."

"Of course not, dummy. Like I said, you have a friend now."

"But it's because of me you're in this mess. You want the cure for Satori's affliction, but I don't know what it is myself."

"You...you don’t?!" Osamu recoiled.

(Of course. Kagutsuchi never meant to curse Satori, did she? If there's no intent, she won't know how to reverse its effects. So Yoko's kiss probably won't work at all, will it? Since she doesn't know how to stop it, there's no information for Yoko's kiss to grab in the first place.)

"I can't help you. I don't know what to do, Osamu. I'm sorry."

"Stop beating yourself up. We'll figure it out, together. Okay? You have nothing to apologize for."

Osamu just now noticed the cans of paint on the floor besides Kagutsuchi. A wild idea sprouted in his mind. "Hey...do you paint?"

"Oh, yeah. Well, I'm not good at it, but..."

"Let's paint something together, like Bob Ross." Osamu proposed.

"Who?" Kagutsuchi asked, tilting her in confusion.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"He's uh…ah, never mind."

Kagutsuchi opened up the cans of paint and handed Osamu a large brush. Actually, 'large' is a bit of and understatement. It was wide repaint the walls in the room, let alone the canvas.

"Why such a large brush? Aren't we working on the canvas?" Osamu questioned.

Kagutsuchi smiled. "No. The room is our canvas. It's nothing but white. Don't you think we should give it some color?"

(Oh man...)

Kagutsuchi took a bucket of red pant and gleefully coated one of the walls and floor with it, all in one splash. Then, she took her brush, and began spreading the paint around, making her strokes on the the furniture and other walls.

"Come on, Osamu!" Kagutsuchi giggled.

(Screw it.)

Osamu took off his socks and picked up a bucket of paint and a brush. He splashed the ceiling with yellow paint, making some of it rain down upon himself and Kagutsuchi. The move got a brief shriek of excitement from Kagutsuchi, who delighted in the rain of yellow.

Osamu began to understand why she wanted to use the room rather than the canvas. Splashing paint all around was strangely liberating. "That was kinda fun!"

"Paint it red, paint it blue, paint it black, paint it you!" Kagutsuchi sang.

Osamu splashed the bucket of green paint on the couch and picture frame above it while Kagutsuchi spread it around with her brush. Her feet and arms were spotted with multicolor paint, but that didn't stop her from raising hell with the art of color. The room began to look even more colorful than the garden outside.

The walls, floor and furniture were awash with deep reds, light blues, stunning purples, and dazzling orange. Osamu completely lost himself in the moment with Kagutsuchi as they made the pure white room into a work of abstract art, complete with splashes of color and brushstrokes that were smooth, aggressive, angry, frustrated, happy, and a little sad.

Osamu and Kagutsuchi continued to splash the ceiling with more paint, making it look like a rainbow. The room was now completely covered. The two sat down together on the paint-covered couch, catching their breath. They both looked at each other and released a barrage of satisfied laughter.

"You know, you're one curious person, Kagu." Osamu said.

"Yeah, I thought you'd say that. It's a good thing, right?"

Osamu nodded. "Yeah. I don't think I'd like you very much if you weren't just a little weird."

Kagutsuchi giggled and laid her head on Osamu's shoulder. "Thanks for being so great, Osamu. No wonder you have multiple wives!"

"Hehe, yeah...well..."

All of a sudden, the power in the building went off. All of the lights zapped out, leaving Osamu and Kagu in darkness. In a few seconds, feedback blared all around the mansion before Satori's voice blasted through the property-wide intercom.

"Oh god, help me! The shikome are eating me! Get out while you still can! Ahhhh!"

The sounds of tossing furniture and screaming filled the entire property. Satori's frantic cry for help made Osamu spring onto his feet in a panic. "Satori!"

And then...laughter.

"Did I scare you? I'm just kidding, losers." Satori mocked.

In Osamu's room, the girls were not amused.

"What a piece of shit." Yoko sighed.

"Honestly, the nerve!" Tsukiakari groaned.

"Oh, right." Satori began. "About the power, don't worry. In case you haven't noticed, the weather hasn't been so nice today. I'll try to get the power back on soon, so don't go jumping at shadows just yet. Satori over and out."

"Kagu, what exactly do you see in that guy?" Osamu questioned.

Kagustsuchi stood up. "Let's go talk about it in the bath."

(Of course, it's not right for a married man to go bathing with a single girl all by himself. So, I brought Yoko, Gekko, and Izanami with me. I gotta say, painting that room really did feel like freedom. Even if, in the end, we're all just birds stuck in a large cage.

The bathing area was quite exquisite. The floors and walls were tiled, alternating between a blue and white color. The very center of the room had a large sink and an even larger shower head above it, enough to wash maybe four or give people at once. Directly ahead lied a big, wide bath filled with hot water.

Instead of a wall being against the bath, the entire front side of the room was made of translucent stained glass, mainly a deep-ocean blue in color. Because of its translucent qualities, the stained glass, even without much light outside, illuminated the bathroom with more than enough light to see. Osamu had already showered off the paint, and sunk himself in the bath with his wives.

"You are so damn careless. Did you even check to see if that paint was toxic or not? What if you whiffed too much of it and killed a bunch of brain cells and my husband's IQ dropped by seventy points?!" Yoko chided.

"Yoko, darling, you're doing that 'Worried Wife Nagging' thing again." Osamu complained.

Yoko crossed her arms. "Damn fucking right I am!"

Osamu looked over at Izanami, catching her staring off into space. "Izanami, are you all right?"

"Yeah, it's okay, I guess." Izanami answered. "I was just surprised to see her. Maybe I was still a little angry about what happened, too. A lot happened between us back then."

"If Kagutsuchi was the first to kill you, that means that it's her fault you were sent to the underworld, right?" Yoko asked. "And that's where the story of Izanagi coming to rescue you, and then subsequently running away when he saw you came from."

Izanami nodded. "Yeah. Ever since then, I looked like this. Pale like a corpse. It used to be much worse. It took years just to look this decent."

"Decent? Hey, that's my wife you're talking about." Osamu said. "None of my wives are just 'decent'. You're beautiful beyond comprehension. It wouldn't matter to me if you were pale, white, black, or yellow. Izanami is still Izanami, and I love her, along with Yoko and Gekko."

Izanami couldn't help but smile after being bombarded with compliments. She tried to cover her face with her hands as her pale cheeks turned pink, drawing the laughter of the other girls.

"There it is! There's that cute smile!" Osamu teased. "Where have you been hiding all this time, buddy?"

"Osa, stop!" Izanami giggled.

"Why should I, beautiful? You can't hide from me, you know!"

Yoko puffed her cheeks and decided to join in on the fun. Osamu kept Yoko under one arm, and Izanami under the other.

"Come on, Gekko. Sit on my lap." Osamu ordered.

"I'm not a dog!" Tsukiakari barked.

"No, but I bet you'd like it if I put a leash on you. So come on and sit." Osamu teased.

Tsukiakari ultimately gave in and swam forwards, clinging to Osamu's chest. And thus, the holy trifecta of wives was completed.

"Your necklace is cold!" Tsukiakari recoiled before hugging Osamu again.

"Oh, sorry." Osamu laughed. "You're really cute, Gekko."

"Don't blush, girl, you got this...don't blush..." Tsukiakari chanted to herself.

"Gekko, want to have some hot, girl-on-girl sex later?" Yoko tittered.

That got Tsukiakari to redden like a chili pepper. Yoko, Izanami, and Osamu could barely contain their laughter.

"She totally blushed! Did you see her face?!" Yoko chuckled.

"You guys!" Tsukiakari cried, on the verge of tears.

Kagutsuchi's voice suddenly rang out from the side of the tub. She stood by the bath, naked and ready to join the gang. "Uh, excuse me..."

"You've got some nerve giving our husband a peek at your nice boobs and stomach!" Yoko hissed.

Kagutsuchi nervously laughed it off. "I'm really sorry about earlier...can I come in?"

"Kill yourself, skank." Yoko said.

"Hey, Yoko, come on. Don't be so mean." Osamu nagged.

"What? Don't tell me you're taking her side!" Yoko protested.

"I'm just saying don't unnecessarily rude to people!"

The rejection proved to be a bit more than Kagutsuchi could handle. She held her hands over her heart as tears welled in her eyes. Interestingly, visible heat waves permeated from her body and steamed the bathing room up even more than it already was. Osamu and the girls immediately noticed and had a unanimous change of heart. They weren't about to risk getting turned into toast over a bathing dispute.

"Just kidding, Kagu! Come on in!" Yoko laughed.

"Yeah, we'd love to have you! We forgive you for earlier!" Tsukiakari assured.

Izanami nodded. "I'm fine with it too. Please come in, Kagu."

Kagutsuchi nervously soaked herself in the water and moved closer to her mother, nestling herself between Izanami and Tsukiakari.

"Wow...you're so beautiful." Izanami complimented.

"R-really?!" Kagutsuchi stammered. "Gee...I get it from you, Mom.:

"Hey...Kagu? Let me know when you want to wash your hair. I'd love to wash it for you!" Izanami offered.

Smiles truly are contagious. Kagutsuchi was more than pleased to hear that. "Okay! Thanks!"

"I gotta say, this is kinda awkward." Tsukiakari snickered. "We spent so long trying to kill each other during the Warring States period, and now we're just taking a bath together."

"Oh...I'm sorry." Kagutsuchi lamented. "I really don't remember much about the past. You mentioned the Phantom Maiden earlier, but I don't know what that is. If I hurt you back then, I'm truly sorry for it."

"You...really don't remember anything that went down? Nothing?" Tsukiakari asked.

"None of it." Kagutsuchi assured. "I remember wandering a lot and then ending up here at the mansion. So...maybe only the past hundred years or so."

Tsukiakari released a heavy sigh. "In that case, I suppose it wouldn't be right to hold any grudges. If you don't remember any of it, then I guess we can just start over, right? I'm Tsukiakari Senkumo. Izanami's my grandmother. It's good to meet you, properly this time."

"Wow, you have such a pretty name! It's a pleasure to meet you properly, Tsukiakari!" Kagutsuchi sang. "How do you write the last one? Is it like 'a thousand clouds'?"

"Heh...I wish..." Tsukiakari snickered. "It's written as 'War Cloud'."

"It's least it's not as bad as Omagatoki's." Yoko interjected. "Hers can either be written as 'The Hour of Great Calamity' or 'The Hour of Meeting Dark Creatures'. It's absolutely demonic. My name is written as 'Ocean Child', and Osamu's is written as 'Discipline'. So, now you know how to write it."

"Thank you so much! I won't forget them!" Kagutsuchi said.

"Hey, speaking of which, I wonder how Akatsuki and Omagatoki are doing." Tsukiakari said. "And for that matter, Aika and Rei."

"Ah crap, I forgot about them!" Osamu shouted. "Do they know we're even gone?!"

Little did they know that Aika and Rei had actually moved out to Hokkaido themselves, not too far from their house. That day, they stopped by the house to surprise Osamu and the girls, carrying a container of homemade cupcakes with them. Aika's white, floral dress danced in the summer wind as she stood at the door and rang the bell. Rei stood next to her, her hands stuffed into the pockets of her leather jacket as she gnawed on bubble gum.

To their surprise, there was no answer.

"Odd, they usually aren't this quiet. Are they home?"

Rei pushed open the door, shocked to find it unlocked. "Aika! Look!"

Aika and Rei went inside and searched around. They didn't find signs of a struggle, but it was obvious that Osamu and the others left in a hurry with all of the strewn about clothes everywhere. Rei whipped out her cellphone and tried calling Osamu, but her call immediately went to voice mail.

"Oh my god...what happened?! Where could they be?" Aika cried.

"Damn, no answer!" Rei said.

"We should reach out to the Shoku Twins, then!" Aika proposed.

"I'm afraid that won't be necessary, girls."

Aika quickly grabbed the chopping knife from the kitchen, pointing it towards the intruder that descended the staircase. Laying eyes on a young girl with a head of long, chestnut colored hair and limbs wrapped in bandages, Rei and Aika realized they had been startled by none other than Lucrezia.

"Lucrezia? What are you doing here?" Rei asked, her shoulders falling in relief that it wasn't some armed burglar.

Lucrezia smiled. "I'm trying to catch a bad guy. Osamu's helping me do it."