Shin Minako, The finale of the Dichotomy trilogy Rating Options

[MorriganAensland]

A/N: Remember when I actually had weekly updates for my stories? Me too. Life sucks. But that's not important right now!

The jewel

Morning came as it usually did at the Rajoshin Shrine, the place that had been my home for... for almost three whole years now. I'd get up, grab my clothes, and shamble on down to the bathroom to-

“Not today, Kabuto.”

A black film suddenly flowed over the whole of the bathroom door and I was shoved out of the way by Mizuki. I spun around, glaring at her and half expecting an equally venomous coming back at me. Instead, I saw Mizuki looking very proud of herself and not paying me any mind before opening up the door.

Before it shut again I stuck my foot in it's path, surprising Mizuki for a moment. “Just what are you trying to pull here? You haven't gotten up this early in-”

Rajoshin shrugged. “Today's special. I'll try to keep it short. Once I've washed up it's all yours, okay?”

With that, a Dai Makai hand appeared under my foot and tipped me back just enough for Rajoshin to shut the door on my face.

With a huff I walked away. For the sake of her own good mood Rajoshin didn't have the right to ruin mine and yet that was what she'd done. I'd think up something to get back at her over breakfast. I could even probably skirt the inevitable reprisal if I slept over at Horoki or Akane's house for a day or two.

My planning was underway by the time I reached the kitchen, but a chance look at the calender made me pause. Under today's date, a single word had been jotted down in Mizuki's handwriting: “First.”

…

I suppressed a laugh. I should have seen it coming a mile away. It was simply another day at the Rajoshin Shrine and there were no special events planned at M--. And at the same time that was the beauty of it. After all, it was three years to the day that Rajoshin had transferred to M--. Three years to the day that Minako had saved her life, and kick-started the events that would shape all of us.
_
A short while later Rajoshin walked into the dining area, breakfast in hand. I took the hint and finally went and prepared for the day, doing it fast enough to be out before Rajoshin was done. That earned a look of surprise from her before I promptly sat down next to her.

“That was quick.”

“I wanted it to be. After all, it was easy enough to figure out this was your big day and you think I'd let you just slip on by without getting to say a few words?” I looked over to her and smiled coyly... only to get daggers glared at me. Nice to know Mizuki hadn't lost her edge just yet.

“What about?”

I leaned back, looking up at the ceiling. “About renaming the Shrine, that's what. I mean... how long do you think you'll stay around once you'll graduate?” After all...” I made vague gestures with my hand, motioning towards Mizuki's lower waist, “Well... you're not exactly proper miko material after that New Year's Eve with Minako a while ago.”

“And you'd actually want to stay around with gramps?”

I shrugged. “I wouldn't mind. This place became a home after my parents were killed, after all. And unlike you, I'm still-”

“Yeah, yeah, I heard you the first time.” Mizuki stood up and, after a sigh, gave me a lazy half-smile. “But if this is something you're serious about then I suppose I can't really stop you. We can discuss this with gramps later if you want.”

“Great, just make sure you don't leave any little deposits of Dai Makai lying in wait. Last thing I need is to get pestered by you halfway across the city because you're bored.”

Rajoshin's smile took on a slightly diaboloical element as she began to walk away. “... That... well, that I can't promise.”
_
The knight

When I had been told that our orders for the day had been scrapped for something else, I wasn't sure exactly what to believe. Transport took several hours, all of them long and boring.

And then I arrived in a beautiful, tranquil meadow and saw her. And everything finally made sense.

“I'm sorry for making this so abrupt,” she said, “But I figured if anyone was going to tell you the news it should be me.”

She was there. Right there... on her feet again and smiling at me. It was Atha; Atha Sido.
_
“Being the last of something is tragic. I should know,” Atha said a short while later. We were sitting down a ways off from the meadow, watching it burn away into nothingness. “But it's not so tragic when I remember that almost half of my fellow Hakkeshu were monsters in the end.”

“And the others?”

Atha smiled again. “The best, most pure, altruistic people I have ever known. Which is why they'd hate for me to spend any more of my time crying over them or letting their home-” she gestured towards the wildfire, “ be ultimately pointless. It gets the send-off it deserves, and serves to be the final insult to Seito.”

She had survived. She had faced Mio Yui alone, saving Minako's life and giving her the time she needed to mount a final attack. She had faced the full power of something that transcended gods and lived.

Sure, she had been wounded horribly in the process, losing an arm, several of her remaining fingers, an eye, and scarring much of the rest of her body. But sometimes people are just too stubborn to die. Either that or they use the fact that destiny never had applied to them to full effect.

We talked, just the two of us. She was proud of me for defending Jun's castle from Manfred and bringing Jun back to her senses and especially renewing my contract with Shot.

“All in all I think for such a brief stint as a soldier of the Demon Empire as you've had you have absolutely nothing to be ashamed of. Though it might be in your best interest to duck out once you can. I can't forsee anyone dragging up drama anytime soon.”

She stood up and walked in front of me and I felt something twist inside of me. I wasn't exactly sure what. Maybe it was just something I had eaten, but Atha looked... different... standing there in front of the brushfire.

“Keston... you've done a great deal for the sake of other people and you were a fine subordinate. You went into this with higher ideals than I did and I think it's important that you remember that.” She reached down and grabbed hold of one of my hands. “As long as you remember your sense of duty to other people you'll do amazing things no matter what the odds.”

A faint speck of her hand drifted away from her hand. My eyes dawned in terrible realization as more followed.

Atha... no... you-

Her swiftly-crumbling hand moved up and she kept my mouth shut with a single finger. “I am the Hakkeshu of the Earth... and Earth is what I am in the end. I... wanted to at least hold myself together long enough to say those things, Keston.”

The uncomfortable feeling grew and twisted as Atha stood up, almost in inverse proportion to her body mass. I was left confused, wondering why this would happen now of all times... but Atha just kept smiling.

“I doubt we'll ever meet again, Keston... so I guess this is goodbye for good. So...” she laughed... and then the whole of her body just... just drifted away.

My throat almost locked up on me, but as I turned around I managed one word.

“Goodbye.”
_
That had been eight months ago... and for a period after that day I had thought it to be one of the worst days in my life. Even now it probably ranked up in the top five. But Atha had been right... about my sense of duty. And now I had one more person to remember every day I got up and served in the army of the Demon Empire.

But right now, that wasn't important. After all, this was my little brother's first day of first grade and I wanted to be there to send him off.
_
The flawed

It surprised me how many astonished looks of surprise I got when I stepped back into the offices of Interpol's counter-assassination department. Granted this was after more than a year of doing legwork for various personal reasons but I had hoped my return wouldn't have so many people looking at me and completely awestruck.

Unfortunately, that was the case. And because of that I knew all too quickly that men and women would say I couldn't be here anymore and my clearance was outdated and no good. I had only myself to blame for this though.

“If you're worried about disregard for protocol please understand that this has been cleared up in advance.”

-But hearing that voice certainly was a reassurance. I watched as Kerrigan Tiam came into view, approached me, and gave me a brief smile before outstretching her hand.

“It's been a while, hasn't it Shot.”
_
“It's funny.”

My words came out of the blue, causing Kerrigan to pause moments from sipping her coffee and look at me. “What is?”

“This.” I gestured around us. “This is the same little place we had drinks and discussed Brian Lernan's declaration to kill that McCready woman, isn't it?”

Kerrigan simply shrugged and finally took her drink. “So?”

“I'm just amused by it.” I looked up at the sky and smiled. “After the hells we endured... the beatings we endured... and yet we're still alive. It's quite a miracle. Then again this is a world in which gods are free to do what they will for the betterment of people.”

“And that's all thanks to Mizuki Rajoshin,” she commented before putting down her cup and looking at me. “So what took you? You said this little venture wouldn't take that long and here we are nine months later once again and only just back.”

I sighed. “Problems rose up. There was a bit of a snag in Nagano a few months ago, though it was rather fortunate I was there. So rather than let things slide Zien and I did what was right and lent a hand. Sure we almost got killed a few times, but we're still here. If you want I can go over this in detail later.”

Kerrigan nodded before quietly finishing her coffee and leaning over the table towards me. “So then what's next on your agenda? You have your little journey for closure all wrapped up nicely and you came back into the office you used to work at. Do you want your job back?”

“Honestly that would be nice, although it seems you've taken it over.”

“Well someone had to. After the fiasco with Audrey divulging the truth of the Hachi Satsu to the world we had to salvage the counter-assassination operations we had going. Fortunately you ran a tight enough ship that I could keep things from going under.”

“And if that's the case-”

“You'll be assigned to the field,” Kerrigan said in a complete deadpan. “I can pull strings for that and you can certainly pass any physical requirements they'd send your way.”

“It's better than nothing,” I sighed. For me, it was back to working at Interpol. My paycheck was going to take a hit, but Saori made ends meet even while doing her studies. And it was about time I actually went to work again. “So how's Giselle?”

Kerrigan blinked in surprise. “Concerned with her more than Saori?”

“More the case of just being curious. For Saori, it's obviously a case of back to business as usual with Mio defeated. But Giselle, well, she has her father back. The Hallowed Prisms are gone so there's no need to have him running around the globe anymore with that Japanese lawyer.”

“Well, I guess the same could go for her too. Business as usual, I mean,” Kerrigan stifled an impressed chuckle. “The point is that her family, or what's left of it, is getting back to normal too. All our lives are.”

With smile I finished the rest of my coffee. “As ordinary as they can be when our job entails killing hitmen. But considering what I do during my time off that's no challenge at all.”
_
The true

Do you remember the old cartoons they always air in the morning? They’re all great, aren’t they? You can even record them and watch them later in the afternoon and pretend it's Saturday morning again if your job gets in the way of regular viewings.

“Saori, it's almost three o'clock. Don't you have to go and pick up my brother from school?”

Reluctantly I turned away from the television and glanced over at Keston. “He's staying a bit late,” I answered with a shrug. “He said he wanted to help prep for a friend's birthday party. I've still got half an hour, plus if something comes up he can just as easily call me.”

Keston looked at me for a moment before walking to the fridge. “Alright, it sounds like you have everything under control-”

“Of course I do,” I smiled before turning back to my show. “Incidentally, if you want some lunch help yourself to the cold cuts. You've already seen where the bread is.”

“Thanks.”

A few minutes later and Keston had sat down next to me, sandwhich on a plate and watching the television with me. “You think he'll be surprised to see me?” he asked after taking a few bites.

I laughed.

“Keston. We're family. Of course he won't. He'll certainly be happy though.”
_
The north

“So, when are you going to get a place with Hokuko, Soma?”

Asuka's question caught both me and Soma off-guard, causing Soma to blush nervously while in contrast the color drained from my face. I stopped in mid-stride, caught on the pavement of M-- before finally just shaking my head. This was ridiculous. “Asuka, what are you talking-”

:My friend flashed a devilish smile at me. “Come on! Soma is still living with his parents and this is the last semester at M-- for us? Don't you think it's time to man up and move out? I mean, heck, Rajoshin was finally in a good enough mood for me to ask about her handing over the reigns of the shrine!”

“Being a miko doesn't make for a solid long-term career plan though,” Soma interjected.

Asuka snorted and then rolled her eyes. “It's a viable strategy until a better one shows up though. Mor importantly, what if Rajoshin has a mind to move in with Minako? Shouldn't you be the man and support your girlfriend?”

“He wouldn't need to in the first place.” I answered.. “It's not like they'd object to sharing the same bed.”

Her eyes almost comically narrowed. “Well played, Hokuko.” She then brightened up immediately and let out a sigh. “Oh well, now we're on that subject-”

“I have a few things lined up,” Soma said. “Ikki said that if I ever needed him to put in a good word for me somewhere, he'd do it in a heartbeat. I haven't actually taken him up yet on that offer, though; I want to look around first. I figure I can impress him more if I have as much as possible lined up, first. It's a foothold for me to step into the real world.”

“Indeed it is,” Asuka noted. “And when you do that I guess you'll be leaving M-- behind you, right?”

...That was right.

But it wasn't just Soma. We all were leaving M-- behind us in just a few short months. And not only that... hopefully all the craziness that had sprung up from time to time in our lives. And for me, that meant leaving behind the last place where Natassia Kamiyu really mattered.

All three of us heard a shout. Off in the distance, there was Horoki, waving her arms to get our attention enthusiastically with a less-enthused but still smiling Akane by her side.

“I suppose Minako's not going to get back to the apartment, will she? Come on,” I headed off towards the two before looking back at Soma and Asuka. “No reason to not have some fun during these last few months.”
_
The light

She'd styled her hair and applied sufficient makeup to hide her scar.

She'd found a beautiful strapless dress in black and with golden trim, probably picked out just for this occasion.

And most notably, she was smiling somewhat nervously as she held out a bouquet of roses for me.

“… I've never seen you look better.”

It was my turn to look blush nervously as I accepted the flowers. “H-hey, come on... it's not like I can do much with my hair being short like it is.” My own dress was nothing to write home about either; a serviceable violet one, but Mizuki didn't seem to mind as she grabbed my hand.

“Let's go. If we stay out here too long they might throw out our reservation.”
_
“Remember the last time we did this? I mean... come to this restaurant?”

Mizuki paused halfway through bringing her fork to her mouth and looked at me. “Yeah. I do. And then I gave you that embarrassing line about how you understand me on the walk back, didn't I?” She gave a half-smile as she shook her head. “... Sometimes, the things that come out of my mouth...”

I laughed. “I think you do more than enough to make up for it.”

We ate and talked about all sorts of things. How our day had been and what we were planning for the weekend. Our backgrounds and supernatural abilities aside, we were nothing more than two girls in love with each other having a wonderful dinner together. We let each other try out meals just to see what they were like too... though honestly...

… How Mizuki could eat that French entree she ordered was beyond me. It tasted horrible and no amount of experience with foreign foods due to her parents' jobs could excuse that. She found my reactions to it funny though... so I'd just chalk up my discomfort to the price I had to pay for amusing Mizuki, one that was inconsequential to what I gained by seeing Mizuki smile.
_
Eventually, with our stomachs full, we departed for our homes. And it was then, when we were walking the streets of Tokyo practically alone, feeling that all was right in the world, that Mizuki spoke up.

“... You know... a part of me's half-expecting something big, serious, and monstrous to happen right about now.”

“What?”

We reached an intersection just as a car went down it. She shrugged. “Unusual things have happened like likework every nine months since I killed Brauner. I'm just... saying I wouldn't be surprised if something else just jumped out from around the corner and attacked us.”

“And if it did?”

Simultaneously, Mizuki's smile took on a sadistic and comforting element. “I'd say we're the last two people anything, human or otherwise, should consider attacking.” With that, she took my hand and we crossed the street.

“That said though,” she continued, “I can't help but ask myself if things are over with Mio.”

“They are.” I did my best to try to sound comforting and at the same speak with complete finality. “I know it might be hard to believe, but she's Mio has... Well, what I did to her... I wouldn't wish it on anyone else. No matter who they were.”

“... I don't mean to pry, but what did you do?”

I couldn't believe we were having this conversation. “Do you really want to know? Really?”

“Call it morbid curiosity.”

… Very well then. “I use the Yasakani Magatama's flames on her. In a bit of a different way than before.”

“... How different?”

“Think of it like a constant loop cycle. Normally the flames just delay an action... but who says they can't affect metaphysical things?” I held out one hand, tracing an infinity symbol in the air between us. “I made her unable to do anything except be trapped in her own mind with Tsubaki. And then I delayed the act of her being freed and thus dying. And then I delayed the act of that delaying. And I simply arranged... for Mio to never really be free. The Profound Shine is an infinite power... to delay something indefinitely is easy enough when you figure out the details.”

Mizuki looked at me with scrutiny. “So ultimately you took away everything away from her and Tsubaki aside from them being able to realize they're helpless, and make them experience physical pain for all of eternity?” She smirked. “Serves the ***** right.”

I let the subject drop. There was no need to tell Mizuki about what Shot and Zien had gone out to do... besides, the only person it mattered to was Mio.
_
“I guess this is it for tonight then,.” Mizuki said as we reached the complex's doors. “It was...” she stifled a laugh, looking down at the ground. “Well, it was worth the dent to my pocketbook.”

“ It's our anniversary. That's as good a reason to celebrate as any.” I put off leaving, choosing to give Mizuki a hug instead. “We've been through a lot together, so we should make the most of the time we've fought to have.”

“As good an invitation as I've ever heard.”

Wha-

A miniscule Dai Makai hand appeared on my collarbone, inching my head up to look at Mizuki and give her the opening she needed to kiss me.

… Truth be told, she could have gone about that a more normal route, but this wasn't something to complain about.

“See you tomorrow then?”

“Of course.”

With that, we went our separate ways for the night.
_
The control

Mio. Tsubaki.

My blood froze. The voice I was hearing echo in my head wasn't Tsubaki's.

That was impossible. That had to have been impossible...

All this time you thought you had me out of the way when I killed myself, didn't you?

…

No...

She couldn't have.

Minako COULDN'T have done this! She COULDN'T be twisting the knife of this torture in even deeper!

I see just hearing my voice again when you're helpless is not doing well for what little sanity you have left. I'd feel bad for you... if you weren't you.

Dammit dammit dammit dammit dammit dammit DAMMIT! THIS COULDN'T BE HAPPENING! SHE COULDN'T BE BACK! KEI'S REMNANT PSYCHE COULDN'T POSSIBLY-

Minako let a single, fleeting window open for one thing to interact with you... that thing being my Remnant Psyche.

You ruined my life. Both of you did.

And now I have all of eternity to return that suffering on the two of you with interest.

Enjoy your unending hells, you two.
_
And with that...



Well, it's been a fun ride. A bit delay-laden in its final chapters, but still fun. I can say I really grew as a writer during my work on the Dichotomy-verse. And now, for the most part, yeah, it's all over. Minako and company's journeys, for the most part, have come to a conclusion. I do have another story planned in the future that will elaborate on that "little snag in Nagano" that Shot mentioned, and other stories may come from it...

But don't expect any more big adventures for this cast. They've fought long and hard and they deserve the peaceful lives they've won for themselves. I've got other stories planned for the future though in different 'verse's, including one for that banner I've been sporting for almost an eternity now. Until then, hope you enjoyed this.