Sometime midmorning Amai came wandering out of her bedroom yawning widely. She mumbled sleepily as she padded down the hallway and tried to rub the sleep out of her eyes. Sleep never came easy to her and she never remembered what she did during the night. Haruki was the only one who knew.

It is cold in this hallway… Amai thought and then stopped abruptly. She looked down. A squeak emitted from her mouth as she turned and dashed back into her room. She came back out a few minutes later with a sigh of relief. Thank goodness no one had been in the hallway because she had forgotten to put any clothes on. With that out of the way, it dawned on her that she was ravenous and heavenly smells were emanating from the kitchen downstairs. Now fully awake, Amai happily skipped down the steps to the kitchen and saw only one other person in there already eating something. It was Zetsumei, the boy she had popped a piece of chicken into his mouth the day before. With a small blush and becoming more reserved, she went ahead and ordered her breakfast. Pancakes with delicious strawberries placed on top.

The others must still be asleep, she thought as she decided to be brave and sit across from Zetsumei.

"Um good morning!" she said.

Most of the others had already gathered in the library seating area. Some had already eaten while others were still nodding off. Chikako was quietly speaking with the librarian and nodded before walking back to the others.

"She has promised us a few hours of no interruptions," she said as she took a seat near where Rex was sitting with his arms crossed.

"Good, that should be plenty of time to say what needs to be said," Shizue spoke up for the first time since meeting the guys. She was sitting on the other side of Chikako. Amai, Haruki, and Kajima were the only ones who had not arrived yet of the women. Zetsumei and Kirai were the only two men who hadn't shown up yet. A few moments later Kirai walked in and apologized for being late. Kiyoshi blushed upon seeing him and went even redder when he plopped down in the seat next to her and gave her a wolfish grin. She had retained her human form this morning and hid her face behind her long brown hair. So, he had noticed her last night then...

Some sat quietly while others chattered idly amongst themselves until Kajima walked in with Haruki. Kajima had taken her time to grab a cup of strong coffee this morning when Haruki had come grumbling to herself and promptly downed a whole cup in one gulp only wincing slightly. Coffee wasn't her favorite, but it would have to do after last night.

"Morning'," she said sleepily and flopped one arm in greeting. Kajima only blinked once at the display before getting her another sip of the strong brew.

"Good morning. I take it that everyone is gathering in the library to speak about this ordeal in greater detail. Shall we go?"

Haruki grunted in displeasure but nodded nonetheless and followed her to the library. Upon arriving Haruki noticed that her sister had yet to arrive and muttered an expletive. She excused herself to go find her while Kajima went to sit in one of the only remaining chairs available close to Yami. Kajima glanced sideways to the man in question and observed that he seemed to be in a calmer mood this morning, and did he cut his hair?

Back in the kitchen, Amai was getting along quite swimmingly with Zetsumei and having a decent conversation about food before Haruki came storming in and grabbing her by the ear.

"You're late! Don't you know everyone else is already gathered in the library? Well, except for him..." she added as an afterthought as she noticed Zetsu for the first time.

"I'm sorry you know I get hungry easily!!" Amai whined as she allowed herself to be pulled by the ear and looked forlornly back at Zetsumei. She was enjoying herself too... Zetsumei shot her an apologetic look and followed the girls into the library. Everyone was finally settled in. Chikako stood and spoke up first.

"Now that we are all gathered here, I propose we let the boys go first. After yesterday's display it is clear that most of you," she looked pointedly at Yami, Assarishita, and Gekido "are closely tied to Ragnarok and it would make things clear as to why each one of us has been cursed in one way fashion or form from him. We may take turns telling our story and leaving nothing out." Clearly finished, she sat back down.

Before anyone could start Kajima stood up slowly and looked around at each one of their faces.

"I would like to add," she spoke up in a reserved voice "that nothing that is said today leaves this room. There are eyes and ears outside of this inn and city that could pick up something and take it to the wrong hands. We all have something in common. Which is clearly why we are here like this now. There is much and more that we do not know even about our closest allies. Please be aware that what is said in this room could make or break relations between one another. On that note, please begin." Kajima sat down cross-legged on the floor with her back resting against her chair. It was time to begin.

Yami coughed and sighed as he stood up. He had fresh scars on his cheeks; one in the shape of a cross on his left and one line on the other from last night’s events. Bright glowing yellow and orange eyes looked at everyone. He was wearing a vest with a hood that was red and black today. He had braces on both arms and his purple and black dragon tattoo was visible.

"I guess we should start but first and foremost that monsters name is not Ragnarok. His name is Raiden, and he is my uncle." He could hear the gasps and looks of shock from all the women in the room and some glares from the men.

"I didn't want to say because it was my problem," he informed the other men in the room as Ishi patted him on the shoulder and sat back down.

"The only one unfazed by this curse is Ishi since he is protected by a power unlike the three of us," He winced a bit as his scars were still sore from last night and he was probably the most tired in the group from being out so late.

"We were born and raised in this world, but all four of us were separated at a young age," he spoke with remorse as he looked at his younger brothers and half-brother.

"As for how this all started…it was here in this town. Our mother and father were murdered by that monster!" He gritted his teeth and once again clenched his arm to keep himself in check.

"After that he sent us to another world, and we found that we were separated." A few tears fell from his face as he looked away from everyone to the window.

Assa sighed as he felt entrusted to go next.

"I grew up in the woods alone and fended for myself but it's harder for Yami to open up. I was the first to meet up with him and he'd been through a lot, I was born with fox powers and magic. Our mother was part wolf and fox so that’s why I'm able to transform. Our father, the real Ragnarok, was the most powerful dragon in the world until our uncle murdered them in their sleep," his voice was full of sadness and rage as he clenched his jaw. He had finished Yami's words and his own

"Not much else to say about me but that," he finished off.

Gekido grunted as he stood up.

"I met up after that, but I’d changed from the curse that was put on me. I was born with dragon's fire, but I’m cursed to be a demon until it's broken. Raiden wanted to shame the Kaminari name and make me feel I didn't belong and to kill Yami at any chance I could get with his curse on me." He clenched his fists tightly as he looked at everyone. There was a black mark etched into the side of his face that was usually covered up. He did it for Saiko to show her he was being true to himself and blushed slightly as he sat back down and glanced at her.

Ishi was the next to stand.

“The reason I’m protected from this curse is because of my own mother, Hydalen. She granted me the immunity to dark curses and anything evil," His long brown and white hair covered his eyes as he looked around the room.

"I was the last to meet up, but I was so bent on finding Raiden and destroying him myself to help my family. It is unfortunately not my ability to do so since he broke through my shield easily. But I will free that girl from her mind control if it’s the last thing I do," he finished as he gave Kajima a look of conviction and sat down.

Rex stood up with his arms crossed.

"I just followed Yami. We became good friends so there’s not much to say about me," he sat back down and looked at the ground. He didn’t want to say anything about anymore of his past.

Kasai stood up and looked around the room.

"It’s the same for me. I became close friends with Yami and his brothers and ended up getting tagged along in this. Half the time I’m not even sure what is happening." he sat back down and closed his eyes.

Kirai stood up next.

"Well as you all probably gather by now, I followed as well. Only difference is that I became Yami's mentor for calming his inner beast. I didn't know he was part dragon, only the wolf side of his is what I’ve ever seen. I am a wolf shapeshifter myself," he said as he sat down and looked around "I've learned a lot from being with this group and Yami would never lead us into danger and be hot headed" he then looked at Kiyoshi and winked.

Zetsu stood up. He had chain marks on his arms that looked painful but still bowed to everyone.

“I travel as well, but I’m friends with Gekido here. I can conjure weapons and spells at my free will, but I was raised in a place different than this. I do like to eat but I myself was unaware of this whole situation," he said as he sat down. There was not much to say since he was usually the quiet one of the group.

Sukai stood up after sipping his coffee. A tattoo of a full moon embraced in rain and the clouds was visible on his right shoulder.

"I am a master of wind and water, and I am the son of the moon goddess Kaguya. No, I am not royalty, just good friends with this company. I joined of my own free will and I like to have time to myself sometimes,” the cheerful side was gone from last night. It was like he’d changed overnight. Everyone looked at him but brushed it off momentarily.

"His dark side is coming out." Yami thought.

Rindo stood up with a bow.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

"The name is Rindo Ragakurei. I’m a fighter like these guys but I usually can't interfere due to my obligations to my father sadly. You'll find out more about me later" he said as he sat down.

There was a momentary pause as the girls, and even the guys processed what had just been said. Despite saying to reveal everything it was only understandable that some things just couldn't be voiced to total strangers.

Kajima raised herself from the floor and sighed. More questions had been raised with every answer, but she resigned herself to sticking with the plan and prepared herself to say what she had always kept to herself until now.

"I suppose I should start from the beginning if any of this is to make sense," she began and closed her eyes as she spoke aloud the memories of her mind.

"It all started when I was at a young age. I had a younger sister that I loved very much even though we didn't see eye to eye on things all the time. She was more outgoing, and I was quieter and reserved. Still am I suppose. Things seemed pretty normal for a few years until I started realizing that I had powers around the age of 10 or 11. My parents saw this and were proud to have someone like me in the family. My potential was recognized, and I was put to work immediately after school hours. I was skeptical about it all, at first. Then the deity named Tsuki that we all saw yesterday appeared before me one day. Said it was my destiny to become a ninja assassin with the fire powers that I wield as it would help me in the future that was to come. I tried my best to act normal around my family, especially my sister who was already upset with me for having powers in the first place," Kajima paused and took a deep breath to keep the pool of tears forming in her eyes from falling.

"Tragedy struck not long after I found out all of this. Our house caught on fire suddenly one day and killed both of my parents. My sister was nowhere to be found, so I looked around frantically to try and find her. No such luck. It's like she had just disappeared into thin air. That same day this tattoo formed on my arm and since then I've been able to transform into a dragon. I traveled alone after that and continued to train for ten years, never letting anyone get close. I never knew what happened that day, and I had lost hope in finding my sister. Until I ended up meeting and traveling with the rest of these girls here, I thought I was the only one who had it bad, and then the stories all seemed too similar. It was around that time that I heard about Ragnarok, or Raiden. Then...yesterday...everything became a little clearer..." She paused for a minute trying to absorb everything and then opened her eyes slowly.

"That girl that we all saw yesterday that did something to those pillars...that was Yukina. My sister."

There was a pregnant pause as everyone looked at her in surprise, and a little sadness at her story. Chikako was the one to break it as she stood up suddenly and walked over to one of the windows littering the room. Her gaze never left the scenery outside as she spoke up.

"I was the first one to meet and travel with Kajima. My past is a cliché I suppose as I grew up in a rich family who wanted me to take over the business when I was old enough. I refused repeatedly and got my way for the most part. Went to a normal high school and college. It was there that I met Reid Osaka. We fell in love and he proposed to me after graduation. I was so ecstatic that I could not wait to inform my parents of my engagement and brought him along with me to meet them. My parents were...less than pleased to say the least. They told me I was to marry someone of my own stature. Reid had cared enough to let me go, but I despaired. It was then that I realized that I had earth powers, and being the first time to realize this along with being in the state of mind I was I could not control my powers," Chikako hugged herself with her arms and grit her teeth.

"I ended up killing Reid with those powers. To this day I still despise myself and will always be heartbroken. I ran. I ran and didn't look back to see what my parents thought of me. I found a job as a model to try to take my mind off things with little success. Then one-night Tsuki paid a visit to my dreams and cryptically told me that I would find my true purpose and myself again soon. It was only a few days later that I had stopped at a teashop to grab a bite to eat and sat in the only seat available next to Kajima. We chatted a bit and being tired of my mundane existence every day I joined up with her on a whim. So... here I am." She finished with a small shrug but did not look away from the window.

All eyes bore into her with one pair more intense than the rest. Shizue ran up to Chikako and gave her a hug from behind. She was the closest to her out of everyone and Chikako was like a mother to her. She turned and entwined her fingers together as she looked at the ground and started speaking.

"I was the third to join. I never knew my real parents and was orphaned at a very young age. This orphanage was isolated from everything else by the sea. The other kids in that place did not like me very much and would make fun of me and beat me. The warden did not help either since she didn't like kids. It was a relief when some of the kids got adopted, but it only made it worse with the ones who were left. I was small for my age, and shy so the bigger kids liked to pick on me by throwing me into the sea and seeing how long I lasted. After a few times of this, I realized that I could speak to the sea animals and I could breathe underwater. Tsuki also paid me a visit saying that I had much more potential than being stuck in that place. I kept it to myself until it got so bad one day with the kids kicking me and pulling my hair and jeering at me...I'd had enough and wanted to escape that place. With my newly discovered power, I sent the water crashing down onto them effectively scaring them and swam as fast as I could across the sea with some help from my sea friends. I finally reached dry land and was too exhausted to get up for a while and Kajima and Chikako came across me and things went from there...and yeah," Shizue twiddled her thumbs together nervously as she finished her tale. Chikako placed a hand on her right shoulder and nodded once letting her know that it was alright.

Saiko knew it was her turn since she had been the fourth to join on this escapade. Feeling nervous but trying not to let it show she turned to look straight into Gekido's eyes for leverage as she started her tale.

"Well, I hate to bring the mood down even further but seeing as I have no choice I might as well just get it over with. I've always been different, even growing up. I liked to get in trouble, skipped school, got in fights, just had a lot of crazy shit going on. Anyway, my parents were afraid of me. They thought I was crazy and didn't want to deal with me, so I got stuck in an insane asylum once I dropped out of high school. I've got psychotic powers see. I can bend time, read minds if I so wish, that kind of stuff. Well having these powers combined with my attitude is what got me thrown in there in the first place. My own personal hell is what I call it," Her eyes never wavered from Gekido's as she said her next line. "That is where I had a personal encounter with Ragnarok...Raiden as y'all call him." A collective gasp reverberated through the room as Gekido's eyes hardened, but never left hers.

"At that point in time, I didn't know who he was or nothing. I just thought he was another crazy fucked up psycho just like the rest of us. Except he was the head of the place, or so I thought. I noticed that he would ask for one of the female inmates every now and then and they'd be gone for a while but always come back looking worse for wear. Anyway, all I heard all day and all night in that place were the moans and screams of the other inmates and it was all I could do to shut it out as I sat behind those bars of my dingy little cell. My only reprieve was that I'd get a visit from Tsuki every now and then. She'd sit and talk with me and she helped me realize that I'm not crazy like everyone else in that place. That's the only way I kept my sanity. She mentioned that in my darkest hour I would find the light. I still don't really know what that means but she stopped visiting altogether and over the next couple of days I noticed my food had been drugged. Powerless to do anything because of the drugs coursing through my veins I was dragged along like a lifeless doll one day when it was obviously my turn to be summoned to see the 'warden'. I was strapped down to what looked to be an examining table and the guards who dragged me in there finished their jobs and left with malicious laughs. Not understanding what was going on and unable to use my powers I looked on helplessly as the next events unfolded. I won't go into detail because this is something none of y'all need to know details on but...long story short the bastard said a few words and raped me."

Gekido's eyes became hard as steel and she glanced away momentarily at the sound of disgusted gasps from the girls and noticed that all the guys had murderous looks on their faces. She looked back into Gekido's eyes with a sad smile.

"My darkest hour indeed...and the first time I ever cried. I now knew what he had done to the other females in that place and I didn't wish it on any one of them. I understood then why they were so broken. Even in their hopeless minds a shred of humanity still existed. Instead of letting it break me I found the resolve to break out of that place and straightened myself up to go searching for that bastard and kill him. It was during this time that I ran into those three." she pointed to Kajima, Shizue, and Chikako in question, "and found that we had a similar goal."

Moods were reeling after Saiko concluded her dark story. Every single person in that room had even more reason to end Raiden once and for all. They all decided to take a short break to recollect themselves before resuming with the remaining girls' reasons for being here. Sora decided to try and lighten the mood.

"Erm well, I certainly don't have a story that dark. In fact, I feel like I'd be borin' after y'alls tales of derring-do. I guess I kind of just joined up cause I wanted to. Gave me somethin' to do. I was your typical smart, sporty high school girl I reckon. Helped classmates with their homework, outran everyone in the triathlon, I was popular there since everyone thought I was so cool with the way I dressed and was cheerful with everyone. The only thing unusual about me is that I never had any real friends or boyfriends and realized I could control the wind. That's why I always outran everyone! I met Tsuki once after I got a job as a fashion designer. She popped by my workplace and asked about dresses to my boss and shot me a look and a smile before she left. Never said nothin'. It was later that day as I was headin' to my flat that I bumped into the girls and y'all know the rest!"

A couple of the listeners had leaned in to hear her tale since she spoke so fast it was hard to catch everything if one did not pay attention closely. Assa just burst out laughing for the second time in two days. This girl was something else. It served the purpose of lightening the mood however, as everyone visibly relaxed. Kiyoshi spoke up for the first time since encountering the men, now confident enough to tell her tale. She spoke in a shy, quiet voice.

"I suppose it's time that I introduced myself formally, as a proper human and not the cat you all saw me as yesterday. I am Kiyoshi Amarante. I'm a shapeshifter. Some people call me a Neko since I tend to take on the appearance of cats more than anything. I grew up an only child and was isolated from society most of my life growing up. I never played with anyone at school when I did go and was made fun of. Most people did not take kindly to shapeshifters back then. I'd usually just sit alone in a hoodie and read a book. I tended to attract cats wherever I went and one day a little girl about my age came to play with me and the cats. I was so happy that I couldn't control my ears or tail popping out at the time because my emotions can cause them to appear at unwanted times. The girl saw this and ran away from me scared. That had been the last straw. Anyway, as I got older my hair started turning blue whenever I would change. It also signified that I was growing more confident. I took a job as a maid but was always lacking something in my life. Tsuki came by one day but didn't order anything. She just told me that what I was missing would be found and left. I thought it was strange, but I ended up meeting and joining the girls after work the next day." She cleared her throat, signifying that she was done talking. Kirai couldn't get over how sweet her voice sounded when she spoke.

Haruki huffed and stood up with a flourish. Amai stood up with her.

"Save the best for last eh?" She said as she looked around at everyone with her red eyes and blew a stray hair out of her face.

"You all, especially the rest of you women, are probably wondering by now why my sister and I disappear at the first sign of darkness. Well I wouldn't call it 'being cursed' by Raiden or anything because we've been around probably a lot longer than him." Amai sweat dropped as she sensed her sister's flair for the dramatics getting the best of her. Haruki slammed one of her feet down on a chair and leaned forward.

"Here's the deal. I've heard all your sob stories and I have to say...this takes the cake of anything I've heard in all my 2400 years. Yes, 2400 years old. You see, I disappear at night because I despise what I am at that time. I'm part vampire, part deity. Amai here is part vampire by night, and a gluttonous human being by the day."

"Hey!" Amai protested. Haruki continued.

"Amai doesn't remember what she does during the night, so I have to be there to remind her and she's the one who dragged me into this whole mess with her natural curiosity and lack of anything better to do. You have intrigued me though, which is hard to do, so I've decided to stick around." She sat down. Everyone else just sweat dropped.

Yami's eyes darkened as he remembered his uncle raping his mother and his lover as he slit their throats while they were sleeping. He clutched his fists harder as black nails started to dig into his palms. He had even more reason to kill the monster of a family member he had.

"I'm glad you all shared with us I'm sorry I couldn't share more but if I did this inn would be nothing right now," his voice had deepened, and the whites of his eyes were turning black. His breath was catching so he sat down to breath.

"We'll be here a few more days supply gathering and recovering,” Yami said.