The Day of Thunder

Kumori came to the door quickly after finishing up her lunch. The agitated knocking caught her attention. “Yes?” She said as she opened the front door. Then after seeing the monk, “Nozomi-san?” "Shiba-sama," she said, her voice a little husky. She might have done some serious screaming not that lon...

She managed a tired, old chuckle as that was said. Did they owe it to the kami or to the heavens? Sometimes she wondered. Certainly they had no alternative than to sit back and be undone, and she wasn't a fan of that. "You have the sense of it. The Thunders rally against the darkness and stake every...

"Well, that's something, a better kind of regret to lose a good man than a bad one." Anjing nods, being able to feel the tether of creation did seem very void, not that void was easy to understand. "And are you one of those monks whose path to enlightenment includes the abilities to punch people th...

"Well," she finally said with a sad, shaking laugh. "If you ever wanted a hammer to pound the steel of your body into proper shape, he would do that very effectively. I know that far too well." She shook her head, looking like she might just charge into the darkness, heedless. her lips were set in a...

"It's amazing that I, of all people, am probably handling my fears better than most. My stomach is killing me right now, and I should eat something to settle it but I can't. I'd be worried about losing it right after," she admitted. "They can't allow their fears to overtake them. Not at this point. ...

"I... hate that it may not be either of our moments, Sora," she scowled. "You're right. This should be mine to bear. He wouldn't forgive me if I let him ..." She clamped her mouth shut. She wouldn't say it. She wouldn't think it. Her eyes hardened and she growled. "We have to survive this first. Hav...

-snip- On the blade of semantics, the world turned. "The stakes remain just as high as before this time. I am afraid that this may have just gotten that much harder. I can only imagine how hard fighting him, even with internal struggles, would have been. I have seen him fight." Many times. She knew...

"Eh, fathers don't now the half of it. Not like they carry anyone around inside of them." Anjing waved dismissively. "Hope he's a decent guy though." Clearly interested in this void technique. "That's....a lot. Must be nice to know nobody can sneak up on you, and of course it would be really handy ...

-snip- "Focusing on the here and now is almost certainly the best choice in this moment, Otaku-sama. Do what you can, focus on what you must, and you'll be fine. We have no choice but to be enough, do we not?" She sighed. "I... just don't know that I will be able to be more than a support at the si...

"No, I'm quite certain he didn't intend to sacrifice himself. But he intended to bring the Thunders together along with enough just in case he was wrong. He was beginning to worry that he might have led us into a trap in his haste." She snarled and shook her head. "I believe he ended up being very r...

-snip- "Our options are to do, or to die trying. It is that simple." She breathed in slowly and exhaled, clearly calming, containing her reactions. "We have to wrestle destiny back and force it to conform. I wonder if this is how it has been done many times in the past. Coerced and badgered into pl...

"Oh... I'm aware," she said, her eyes narrowing. "I claim a right on this. I'm going to destroy that thing for taking what it did away from all of us." Even if it wasn't finished, she had every reason to be afraid that this was absolutely what was happening. "And of course he's fighting. The fact th...

-snip- She couldn't say that, in many ways? Her daughter would never be her daughter again. Mayumi had been clear about that when she'd parted ways. Doing so would hold her back, would hold them both back, and her destiny demanded it. Yet, still? Maybe she was right about Nozomi, because she would ...

She didn't quite return it in kind. It was the kind of reaction that a young girl used to make, when she was calmly trying to forget the need to bash some fool's head in and protect the tribe. She'd compartmentalized a lot in her day. Despite starting over, the little girl was still in her. That gho...

-snip- "An interesting way to look at it. Reasonable even," she said, considering. "As you said, though. The path is not set. We may be forced to take hold of it for ourselves, to claim the destiny that is before us and demand it take the shape that we require." Her lips turned in a frown. "I fear ...

Nozomi had sent a note. It was obvious and painfully short. In the simplest of words, it made very clear who was speaking and just what state of mind someone was in. 'Old Man, We need to talk. River. Sundown. -Phi. Nozomi did not look any different than she usually did, but she had the countenance o...

-snip- "I take reassurance to the idea that she will always be my greater," she said with just the tiniest hint of a bitter twist in her mouth. "Of course sometimes, it stings for your child to teach you a lesson or two you didn't want to hear. As for the bird, there's no need. I am just illustrati...

He finally couldn't help but release his own tension and broke out laughing, loud and long, before finally stopping and catching his breath. "Sorry. Sorry. It has been a day, and a lifetime, and many lifetimes. Yes, I believe in destiny." "You're forgiven. You were nearly killed by one of the most ...

-snip- There was a moment where she flashed him a look that could have murdered someone. And then, she sighed and deflated a little. "You sound a little like my daughter. She's a much wiser woman than I am." Her lips thinned and she sighed, shaking her head. "My connections to this world may yet be...

"Would you believe me if I told you that I sought the truth of the universe in the act of being a mother?" "..." Anjing blinks. "Might need you to explain it to me. Only truth I found was that being a mother was the hardest thing I've ever done, but maybe the best. Except when you haven't slept in ...