Luci nodded, “Yes, in fact. The first to be damned and cast from heaven.” Scott grit his teeth. “Luce, if you expect me to believe all of this─” Luci held up her hand, “I don’t expect you to believe anything. You believe what it is that you want to believe. I’m merely offering the truth.”

Scott’s mind was whirling. This was too much─ too much. Why did everyone expect so much of him? He was fucking human, nothing more. A man desperate for answers as to why his only family was now missing, the love of his life long dead. And now, the woman he was quickly falling for is thought of as one of the most horrible creatures known to man. Not falling for, he admitted, in love.

He stood suddenly, sleep was completely out of the question. Luci stood with him as he strode over to his shoes. “What are you doing?” he didn’t answer, slipping both of them on and then grabbing his keys. “Scott─” he didn’t even look at her before he was out the door. He crossed the hall and pressed the button for the elevator, hoping that she didn’t follow. He relaxed as the elevator arrived and the door opened.

* * *

It was still fairly early when the Shikansen pulled into the station. The bullet train had made very good time, less than two and a half hours. Scott was glad that they still had a few more trains running to Kyoto Station tonight. He quickly checked in with his driver. He was still waiting for Scott outside. Trains running from Kyoto to Ise Grand Shrine wouldn’t be running again until morning. It was time to go talk with the bug-eyed woman. No more lies. He needed to know what was happening with Celeste. If she even was Celeste anymore. Part of him feared that Kiwako had taken over, another part of him just wanted to know what had to be done. She was still his daughter, and a part of him, no matter what. There had to be something good left in her, he had seen it. He had seen the way Daniel looked at her and spoke about her, he believed it too.

Scott stepped from the bus and walked into the well-lit station. Most of the shops were closed down, except for a few workers behind the information counter. Even they appeared to be getting ready to leave for the night. They smiled at him as he passed through the gates. He returned the smile and waved. He always loved the way the people treated one another here. It was a courtesy he wished was there when he passed people back at home. There was always a sense of wariness to people in Dallas.

Saioji-San was stationed outside waiting for him. He was leaning against the car pulling a drag from a cigarette. The tiny orange light illuminated his face enough that Scott got a real look at him. His features were gaunt, he was a wisp of a man. Saioji-San had always been a bit on the thin side, but he was so frail that it was a struggle to not gape at him in horror. It was like looking at the walking dead. As soon as the old man spotted him, he quickly put out his cigarette and bowed. Scott shook his head, “there is no need for formality, my friend. Please, do as you wish.” He walked up and patted Saioji’s shoulder, “Thank you so much for taking me to Ise. You didn’t have to, you know.” Saioji nodded and then turned to open the door for Scott. “After what you have done for family, I would say that we are less than even.” Scott paused beside the old man, “I don’t care about such things. You are family to me.” Saioji smiled, “And what is it that family does when troubling times occur?” Scott was on the brink of tears. Saioji-San had been with the family since before Kotone passed away. His home, had been their home and he had seen to it that Saioji was flown back to his native place of birth, as per his wishes, in Kyoto. Saioji’s own daughter was Celeste’s age and lived near Tokyo. His son had chosen to stay with him in Kyoto. He had told Saioji to simply send his son, but the stubborn old man was insistent that he drive him. Scott knew what that drive was, it was at least two hours. That would be hard on anyone, let alone an elderly dying man. He watched as Saioji shuffled around the front of the car and got in. They drove away in comfortable silence toward the shrine. Scott turned toward Saioji, he couldn’t let things left unsaid. “Thank you, Kazuo.” Saioji shook his head. “No need to thank me. You would have done this for me in the beating of a heart.” Scott grinned at the man’s words. It was his way of saying what they both knew. Years ago Scott had said that very thing to him when Saioji’s family had fallen on hard times. Saioji’s English had gotten a little rusty since he had come back, but the emotion behind the words were what counted. This was his way of thanking Scott for helping his family. Now he understood. Let the man make his peace. Saioji turned up the music as they drove along the winding path toward Ise.

Scott’s eyes widened at the composer. Tōru Takemitsu, one of Kotone’s favorite haunting classical composers. His music often brought about feelings of nostalgia and was a composer far ahead of his time. She had once told him that Takemitsu-San created a piece in the 60’s made entirely out of nothing but the sound of water and water droplets. Kotone had especially grown fond of his work when she was sick. She explained that the composer had grown ill and listened to western music because his native Japanese music made him depressed and reminded him of the war when he was a boy in the 1940s. It wasn’t until his later years as a composer that he came back to Japanese music and started using it in combination with the western style he embraced. The same had happened to Kotone, not over war, but family matters and friendships that were split apart. For a long time, she had denied herself any of her former music pieces and stuck to classical western compositions and her own original works. He never understood the appeal, Takemitsu’s work was always so disjointed and creepy.

One in particular that always got under his skin was RING. Kotone loved to listen to that around Halloween, and blared it to spook the local children. The discordant noises and the flute sounded like fluttering wings. But out of most of his, this one that Saioji was playing was one that he had found mysterious yet lovely. It was called Into the Woods. He looked at Saioji and then out toward the trees that lined the road. Was he trying to tell Scott something? The piece was somber, and foreboding─ as if warning him not to go. Each of the guitar strums plucked made him jump slightly. Was it just him, or was the road becoming harder to see? It must have been the fact that they had left the city some time ago. Perhaps the light ordinances were different here, he hadn’t seen a street light for several miles. Saioji hummed along absently, gently swaying to the minor chords. He sighed, shaking his head. He was letting his nerves get the best of him. The wind picked up outside, causing the car to rock and creak, gently swaying left to right. The last of the chords faded as the beginning notes of To the Island drifted in. This was one of his few nostalgic pieces that brought about happy images. It flowed like a gentle breeze as the listener wandered on a boat between islands. Before he knew it, Scott’s eyes fell heavy and his breathing became deep.

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Images of Kotone looking out across at Mt. Fujiyama floated just beneath his lids. Then it shifted to Celeste, dressed in a matching white dress, seated with her mama strumming the piano keys as they laughed at nothing. They turned and smiled across at him. He stumbled over to them and reached out, sweeping them both into a long hug. They were real─ so very real. He cried into Kotone’s delicate shoulders, breathing her scent in deeply. She leaned back and smiled, standing on her tip-toes to reach his lips. They stayed there, wrapped in each other’s embrace. Celeste returned to the piano and played her piece, smiling at them both. He had found her, somehow, some way, she had never left. Scott wept openly as she held his face to hers. “I’ve found you,” he murmured. “Not yet, love.” She whispered to him softly. He gripped her tighter, desperate to hold on a little longer. The scene evaporated, nothing but pure darkness surrounding him.

He opened his eyes as the car slowed into the familiar parking lot by the bridge. Saioji must have gotten them past the gates somehow. All was quiet. He looked at the great wooden Torii that stood before the Naru entrance. It was the side where the goddess Amaterasu was supposedly housed. Into the devil’s den, he mused. They both exited from the small, black car and paused at the Torii’s entrance. Scott looked to Saioji and offered his hand. “Thank you, my friend. I can take it from here.” Saioji took his hand and wrapped it in his own. It was soft, and warm. “You don’t have to do this.” Scott smiled and shook his head, “I was always meant to.” He took a few steps toward the entrance.

“Scott─”

“You know, I wasn’t entirely sure until just a few moments ago. Something kept bothering me, something in the way you behaved. The amount of emotion I saw in your eyes.” He sighed, closing his eyes. “Saioji-San was left handed.” He was met with a long silence. “How long has he been gone, Luce?” He turned back to see her standing there, beautiful as always, her blue eyes shining in the darkness. She smiled through the tears that began forming. “I wanted to see you one last time. Maybe convince you how foolhardy this is.” Scott nodded, “you can’t follow me, where I am going.” She shook her head, the waves softly framing her face. “But I can make it so that you can go there.” Anger ignited within him, “Because you have known where she has been all along.” She took a step forward, her eyes growing fearful, “Please, don’t hate me. I didn’t expect─” “that you would fall in love?” His words came out sharper than he intended, but now his suspicions were confirmed. She had used him to get to Celeste. He thought that he had been protecting her this whole time, when in reality Luci had been training her to fulfill her ultimate destiny. How could he have been so blind? How much did he really know about all of this? “Scott, please. You don’t understand who she is.” “She is my daughter,” he bellowed, “and someone that you claimed to love. Are you really even capable of that emotion?” Her face fell, tears falling from her eyes. Her hand dropped to her side and she clenched her jaw, “you have no idea who I am, or what I have sacrificed. Don’t pretend that you are the only being on this god forsaken planet that has suffered.” Her eyes flashed from blue to lavender, her hair now a pale violet tumbling from her shoulders. She was as fearsome a creature as she was stunning. He faltered, unable to keep his anger. “Then tell me. For fuck’s sake, please tell me. How am I supposed to help her, if I have no idea what I am going up against?” he was practically shouting. She glared at him, but her features had softened slightly. “There is a war, Scott. One that has gone on for Eons before the son of Adam existed.” He calmed a degree more and snorted, “No shit, Sherlock.” She raised an eyebrow at him but the corner of her mouth betrayed her and drew up into a smirk. “I see we are back to teasing and name calling.” Not able to help himself, he broke into a slow smile. He didn’t understand it. He wanted to hate her, she had, after all, betrayed them. Unfortunately, he was an understanding man. He knew there was more to the story, he was no idiot. That’s not what was making him upset. It was the fact that he still believed in her. He still─ cared.

She walked over to him, careful to stay at arm’s length in case he did not want her there. He didn’t think it possible, yet she was even more beautiful in her true form. Unable to help himself, he reached out and stroked a lock of the silvery-lavender. “When this is all over, your life will go back to as it was.” She sighed, leaning into him. “On the train, I had all of my accounts switched over. You are sole heir, if I don’t come out of this alive.” Her eyes grew wide and she shook her head, “No, Scott. That is meant for your girl.” He smiled at her and cupped her face. “There is a reason that you are keeping things from me. She will never be the same, will she Luce?” Her lip trembled and a single tear fell down her face. She said nothing, she didn’t need to. He already knew what waited for him beyond the gates. He pressed his lips firmly on her forehead, and then he let her go. It was the hardest thing he had to do, knowing every step would be his last.

He was almost to the Torii when her voice rang out, “At least know that this is bigger than you or me. I didn’t do this to betray you.” He paused, listening to her words. “That girl, she is so much more than you could have ever imagined. I did this for her. She is salvation, she is destruction, she is─ everything.” Scott turned to her and grinned, “I’ve known that my entire life. She is my daughter, after all.” She flashed beside him, pulling his mouth to hers. They stood entangled, lost to each other’s passion. Her hands ran through his hair, pulling him as close as he could get. He was lost to the moment, he couldn’t remember the last time that a woman built such a fire within him. He could stay here forever, they could just walk away from it all. Kotone’s soft eyes and touch came back to him. No, you can’t. Celeste’s sweet smile flashed into his mind. He couldn’t do that to her. Somehow he was going to find a way to fight all of this. He pulled away from Luci and stared deeply into her vibrant lavender eyes. “If I created you, I would tear down every known universe to bring you back to my side.” Luci’s face crumbled, but her body moved automatically. She bent him over her arm and thrust her fist into his chest. His screams exploded across the forest and river, disturbing the natural lull. It was a pain like he had never known. He was a child again, being embraced by his mother goddess. Luci’s face hovered inches from his as they dropped to the ground. She cradled him in her lap, “shh” she cooed, “look at me,” his screaming halted, and then changed to tears. His ribcage opened, finally releasing his heart to her grasp. His vision began to fade, his breath labored.

Her hand hovered centimeters from the still-beating heart. “You must give yourself over to me, pledge it and the pain will subside.” Wetness spilled from his eyes, his voice lost to the wails. He willed it silently, feverishly pledging himself to her, and then nodded. Luci’s eyes flashed, changing from blue, then lavender, and finally the blue-green. He had known. Somehow, he had known who she really was. The reason she was always there, so close by Celeste’s side─ removing Kotone from his family. It all had to pass in order to bring Celeste to her ultimate purpose. The bug-eyed woman, his enemy, and the love of his life. He had always known.

Scott collapsed in the demon’s embrace, the last of his breath leaving his body. His eyes turned skyward, the stars the last thing in his sight. Finally, he was released from the pain. He was free.