”What are you doing here?!” I said.
Futakuchi-Onna shushed me and giggled, raising a knee onto my bed. “Oh, relax. I’m not here to fight you. It’s far too late in the night for that.”
Her voice was different than it’d been earlier. Rather than the domineering Shogun, she sounded like a sultry singer straight out of a foreign “jazz lounge”. I wasn’t sure why I lowered my voice, but when I spoke again my voice came out almost whisper-quiet.
“You still haven’t answered my question. What are you doing here?”
She crawled forward a bit on my bed. “Isn’t it obvious?”
It… was, but… what?! What changed? Why was this happening? It was so sudden that I wasn’t able to think properly. Futakuchi-Onna must’ve registered my confusion because she took a step back and began to explain herself.
“My recognition of your potential was not mere flattery, Rui Payne. You have aura reserves like Typhon and the Demogorgon. If you and your ilk plan on dying to the Honor Guard tomorrow, I’d rather get something out of it.”
“So you’re trying to seduce me into surrendering? I don’t know why you chose me and not Yugo.”
Futakuchi-Onna laughed. “I don’t need to try to seduce you.” She brought another knee up on the bed and crawled forward, like a cat on the prowl. “When Rogues produce children, their offspring are born with aura reserves slightly deeper than their parents.” She inched closer, close enough that her kimono brushed against my leg. “More than that, they are born with abilities inherited from both parents.” She was mere centimeters away from me now. Far too close.
“Hana is my only descendant strong enough to maintain the Shogunate. I can’t have that.” She took my right hand in her left. “Do you underst–”
Fallen Star took control of my body and slammed a fully-charged [WRAITH STRIKE] to Futakuchi-Onna’s head faster than either of us could react to it. The attack sent her flying into the floor-to-ceiling window, leaving me a panting mess in my bed. I stared down at my hand, considering what Fallen Star had just done. I’d been thinking of ways to do that, but I’d been second-guessing the effectiveness of such an assault. My desire had been fulfilled by Fallen Star. Not that I had time to worry about that, though. I just sat there, panting as I swapped between my shaking left hand and the now-twitching form of Futakuchi-Onna.
The awkward silence was broken by Fallen Star, who spoke with a mix of both discomfort and total pride, a mix I’d never heard from the Curse.
“WE ARE THE ONES DESTINED TO RULE ABOVE ALL, RUI PAYNE. IT IS UNDERSTANDABLE THAT WOMEN WOULD THROW THEMSELVES AT US. AS YOU UTILIZE MORE OF MY POWER, EXPECT MORE INTERACTIONS SUCH AS THESE. AND I WILL INTERVENE EACH TIME. NONE OF THESE WOMEN ARE CLARISSA PERROW.”
You’ve gotta let her go. It’s been years since I had a crush on her.
“SHE IS A WOMAN WORTH SAVING YOURSELF FOR.”
My wits returned to me as I observed Futakuchi-Onna’s unconscious form. She’d been lying on the floor of my room, twitching and shaking like she’d been zapped by a stun gun. I even noticed an unsightly mouth growing out of her neck, with sharp teeth like a Bukimish Hellhound. I cautiously approached her.
“I should… probably warn the others.”
“THAT WOULD BE IDEAL.”
“That won’t be necessary.”
I looked down to find Futakuchi-Onna’s hair suddenly turning black. The neck-mouth retreated under her skin, and her voice sounded like it came from a young woman. I watched as Okita Hana stood to her full height.
NAME: OKITA HANA
APPROXIMATE LEVEL: 124
CLASS: N/A
SHIFTER: YES
“Thank you for… stopping… that,” Hana said, adjusting her kimono as she extended a hand. “My name is… Okita Hana.
I accepted. “No problem. My name… is… Rui Payne.”
“Oh, yeah. She just… called you that, huh…?”
“Yeah…”
Awkwardness flowed through the room like Curse Aura in my Mindspace. It was maddening. Still, I had so much I wanted to say to her that I decided to power through it. Funnily enough, Hana was the one who started the conversation. She moved to the desk in the corner of my room, pulling a chair out and offering it to me. I declined, choosing to remain standing. She sat down and spoke.
“I overheard your and your friends’ plans for me in the dining room. You four are going to kill me tomorrow, correct?”
At least she isn’t wasting any time…
“That is, unless you start the Contract Termination Ritual. Do you think you can defeat Futakuchi-Onna in a fight?”
Hana shook her head. “I cannot. Even if I could, I wouldn’t want to.”
I frowned. “Wouldn’t want to? Why not?!”
“She was there for me when I needed her. When I was young, my family was chased by a swarm of Curses that moved in unison like the Demogorgon’s army. The old Shogun didn’t do anything about it and the Honor Guard weren’t strong enough to help us, so I did what I needed to do.” Hana summoned a sword from nothing, holding it on her lap. “Tochi no Seifuku-sha. Land Conqueror. My family believed it was cursed because everyone who touched it suffered a terrible fate. To me, it was either that or watch my family die.”
I didn’t say anything, but I immediately thought of Zelos. These were the types of ultimatums he drove people to. If he knew there was a Mythical Weapon capable of changing the world, he’d control Rogues just like Hana described to force her into unleashing Futakuchi-Onna. How many times had I been the Curse he set out for the same reason? My anger grew, but I did my best not to show it as Hana continued to speak.
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
“When I used Grandmother’s sword, it made me feel strong. Free! I used her sword to clear out all the Curses in town. I loved being the city hero for the day. It was intoxicating! But that’s also when the problems started. Grandmother made herself known to me that night, and she was angry that we were ‘commoners living under a pathetic shogun’ and started telling me and my family off. The first thing she did was make me train my body against Rogues, then she had me kill the Shogun. When I refused, she took control of my body and… I’m guessing you know the story from there.”
“IShe strengthened the Honor Guard, revitalized the local economy, and slowly continued her expansion of Saikou. That’s not what I’m interested in, though.”
“What do you want to know?”
“I want to know why you said you wouldn’t separate from her given the chance."
“Dealing with her is a small price in the grand scheme of things. She took us from an impoverished family in the Red Light District to a wealthy family in a large house outside of town! I can do whatever I want, my family can do whatever they want, and all I need to do is let her pilot my body for a few hours.”
“And you’re fine with that?”
“Quite. My family hasn’t been happier–”
“Killing people who don’t deserve it, inciting war with the Oni, hell, coming onto me! You’re fine with all of that?!”
She frowned. “I’ll allow that I’m not fond of the lengths she goes to, but I learned to get used to that. It’s a necessary evil to allow my family a peaceful life.”
“So that’s it, then? You’re content with being Futakuchi-Onna’s puppet because she gets you some money?”
“Excuse me?”
“You’re taking being this ruthless Shogun as a foregone conclusion when it isn’t. You have a choice in how your life goes. You don’t have to be a slave to Futakuchi-Onna.”
“Choice?” Hana fumed. She stood and stepped closer to me. When she spoke, her voice was uncomfortably similar to Futakuchi-Onna’s. “I was born into nothing, and I would’ve stayed there if not for Grandmother’s sword. Choice? That sword gave me the power to choose my destiny and change my family’s destinies! How stupid would I be to give that up?!”
“She didn’t give you anything. All you’re doing is choosing to let Futakuchi-Onna live for you. You aren’t even thinking about this logically! Forget the Contract Termination Ritual for a second. Think about Futakuchi-Onna as a person. As a Shogun. Do you seriously think she’s okay with you being a bystander? She said that you were the only member of your family strong enough to defend the Shogunate. How do you think she’ll react when she realizes you’re just using her to make your life easier?”
“I’m not! I–”
“I’ll tell you how she’ll react: she won’t. It won’t matter. You wanna know why? Because she already owns you. Did you notice that she doesn’t seem to care how you feel when she pilots it? Every time you let Futakuchi-Onna take control of your body, you’re letting her claim more of it. Eventually, once you’ve lost that battle a few too many times, you won’t exist anymore. You’ll be nothing other than a puppet for Futakuchi-Onna’s convenience. An observer trapped in your own body.”
Okita Hana was centimeters away from me now, her face contorted into one of complete rage. She’d been grabbing me by the collar with her Mythical Weapon in her off-hand. Hana stared at me for a long while before finally letting me go. When she spoke again, her voice was a lot softer, though that wasn’t to say it was lacking any bite.
“So what if I’m a puppet? I’m free. You, of all people, should understand where I’m coming from, Curse,” Hana said, spitting the last word just like Futakuchi-Onna. “Curses all follow their impulses, right? Well, I’m following mine! I can eat at the nicest restaurants, drink at the fanciest teahouses, give my family money to enjoy Minashire, and take care of the townspeople! I don’t have to go to sleep hungry and wondering whether I get to eat or if I have to give food up to my siblings. I don’t need to scrounge around looking for work to make sure my family has a roof over their heads.” She jabbed an accusatory finger into my chest. “You don’t get to tell me I’m living wrong when the alternative is suffering!”
I tried hard to see things her way, but I couldn’t. It’d be like forgiving the Horsemen for making me kill my mother and using me to kill countless innocents and destroy thousands of homes because they paid for my accommodations and had those brainwashed fools in the cult worship me like a god.
I grabbed her hand and gently moved it away. “I’m sorry, but I can’t see things how you do.” Hana gave me a regretful look, but I continued. “I grew up living the way you do now, having all of my needs met and living like a king. The cost of that was the life of my mother and the safety of every innocent civilian within a 100-meter radius. Knowing what I’ve been through, it’s impossible for me to understand you.”
“So you’ve been projecting this whole time?”
“Probably,” I admitted. “But, projection or not, you aren’t happy with your life. I can sense that in the way you talk to me. It’s like you’re trying to convince yourself of the truth. If you were happy with the way things were going, you wouldn’t have tried to stop Futakuchi-Onna from killing me. You wouldn’t have sounded so afraid, and you wouldn’t have thanked me for stopping her from doing something with me earlier.”
Hana’s eyes were wider now. She didn’t say anything, but she was clearly thinking about what I’d said. “I spent a long time wallowing in self-pity over my Curse. Part of me still is. I think what we both need to understand is that life dealt us both terrible hands, but we don't need to accept them.”
I wasn’t sure when I’d come to this decision, but I’d come to it. Yugo and the others were capable of entering my Mindspace, so there was no reason I wouldn’t be able to do the same with others, right?
“I’m going to attempt the Contract Termination Ritual on my Curse when I’m strong enough. For you, though, I think you’re strong enough to attempt it now. And if you’re not, I’ll help you. We can do it together. You have enough power to protect your family and maintain the Shogunate as you are. And if you aren't, well, the Level Cap is 500. You can only go up from here.”
Okita Hana stared at me for a long time. Gone were the venomous eyes she shared with her grandmother. What remained were soft, sorrowful eyes. She stepped closer again, visibly fighting with herself regarding what she wanted to say. In the end, Hana took a deep breath and made for the door. She spoke with her back to me, sword still drawn.
“Leave Saikou by morning and I’ll make sure Grandmother leaves you alone.”
My heart dropped. So that's what it was going to be...
“I can’t do that, Hana.”
“It’s Shogun Hana. Respect my title.”
“No, it’s Shogun Onna. You never earned the title. Futakuchi-Onna did. Twice. Once in her body, and once piloting yours.”
Hana paused in the doorframe, back turned to me as she slowly gathered aura. I did the same as I awaited the inevitable. It didn’t take long. She turned and tackled me through the glass, sending us both tumbling down into the garden below.