The Day of Thunder

He looks at the older man and flashes him a smile.

"Perhaps. Perhaps it was my mistake thinking I could take on the enemy alone, consumed on my personal vendetta, allowing myself to lose my very sense of self. Vengeance is easy. Ignoring the last words of the one who triggered this vengeance is even easier, afterall you can convince yourself that this was what she really wanted"

He sighs before continuing.

"But thank god I managed to meet people that changed that outlook. The weight of the world will crush you if you do not know or allow yourself to trust in others. If you think, misguidedly, that you are the only one that can solve it."

He laughs before relaxing

"And why am I sharing this with you Sora-san? Because it is cathartic. Because you remind me of my father. Because maybe tomorrow I will be dead. And I really do not wish to hold any regret in my heart."

He turns once more to him.

"Now I know that even if I die, that everything will be ok. We will beat this and we will cast Yume-Jigoku into where it belongs. Not me, but we."

Sora.... chuckled.

"You sound like I did when I realized I wasn't going to die an unwanted warrior of the HIkaru tribe. Welcome to the human race, Naraku-san."

He laughs at his remark.

"Well what made you realize you were also human Sora-san?"

"I'd had my suspicions... but the deal was sealed the day the Emperor placed Tokiwa into my hands and asked me to protect her."

He smiles

"That was a sign of utter trust if I ever heard of one. Sometimes I just want to know what my future holds for me. Was I perhaps too late in correcting my ways?"

"Nah. You're barely more than a boy, Naraku. You've got time yet. You might have missed an opportunity or two, but plenty more will come your way."

"I guess it does sound ridiculous, but stilll,"

He sighs and leans back.

"I wish I had brought firewater from the Hiruma lands. There's a village near Kyuden Hiruma that makes some of the best moonshine you'd ever taste Sora-san, if that were something you'd fancy."

"Lady Anjing and I shared some stuff that'd make a good stump remover last evening. Is it anything like that?"

"Let's say that at least it doesn't make you go blind,"

He smiles

"I'm going to drink a whole bottle once this is all over. Call me naive, but I am convinced we will win."

---

(OOC: sorry for the delay, spent all of yesterday coughing and hiding under blankets with a fever)

"Hope is our best weapon, Naraku-san, so you don't need to justify it to me."

A pause.

"Although depending on the hangover, not sure I can recommend the choice of celebration..."

[OOC: No worries man, health is health]

"That is the beauty, the locals have a hangover cure. Apparently the bark of the weeping willow, when taken in an infusion, allows your hangover to be, if not gone, at least diminished."

He laughed and rose his arm in an imaginary toast

"To the ingenuity of finding avenues to get sauced."

He looks at the man and nods.

"I'd say it's the only thing we can have but that would be a lie. The people that are here gathered are amidst the greatest I've met. Sure I'm young, but there is a lot of people I would trust implicitly here like Hisomu Reo, Kai, Togashi Satsuki, Nanzi Ai... "

He blushes when he mentions Nanzi Ai

Sora quirked an eyebrow.

And played dumb.

"Well, we've certainly got quite the mix. Reo's a good man, and half of the Kami sent their children here- Kumori, Satsuki, Nao, Genji, Ai..."

"It would be normal that the Kami would send their children," he admitted. "After all the stakes are the sames for all us, regardless if they are Kami or mortal."

He thinks

"This has happened before no? Every 1000 years it happens."

"Based on every source we have, yes. Although this is the first time humans have been the ones to do the fighting."

"Did you ever heard about this before it was revealed? About this ever repeating cycle?"

"Hints. We found them on the trip south. The Nezumi libraries had some records, there was a strange, mystical stone marker that had some traces about it, and we found the ruins of an ancient city... built by trolls, apparently."

"And is there no way to break this cycle? To stop Jigoku's meddling once and forever?"

"I don't know."

Sora actually seemed to be thinking through the problem as he sat there.

"In a way, we already changed what would have been- when the Nezumi sealed the portal to Jigoku with our help, the original path of the Realm of Evil's assault on our world was closed. So it adapted, and came at us sideways through Yume-Do. As long as such contact is possible, I think the attempt will be made every thousand years. I think the only way to stop it permanently would be to sever all contact with other Spirit Realms, which.... would likely be a complete disaster. No Jigoku sounds good, but no Tengoku, no Yomi, no Chikushudo? I'm not the most spiritual man, Naraku-san, but... I like knowing the Fortunes are out there, you know? I like knowing that my former Ayakashi friends can still contact their old allies. I like knowing the Nezumi can reach their ancestors in Yume-Do. So that solution..."

He frowned.

"Is no solution at all."

He listened to the man's answer. Truly it seemed to have been something that he had given it thought.

"A God as the champion of Jigoku... I shiver at the idea of that. Thankfully you managed to eliminate that avenue."

He ponders

"I imagine the best solution would be to not forget. To make sure that the people always know what is coming. Imagine the preparations we could have done had we known of this kharmic reoccurrence."

"Oh, I intend to write quite the history of this mess."

A pause.

"Or give my nearly illegible notes to my wife or to my daughter Phi to turn into something coherent..."