After a fitful night of poor sleep, during which I had a number of nightmares that I could only remember vague flashes of, muddy sketches of emotion and dark colour, I opened my eyes to the light streaming through my window. Shaeula was beside me as always, and while all we’d done was sleep, I wondered briefly what was the point of her having her own bed. Seriously, what a luxurious problem I’m having, that I’m complaining about such a beautiful girl sleeping in my bed. Managing a dry chuckle, the humour forced, I checked the clock. It was just after nine in the morning.

“Oh well, might as well get breakfast ready.” I muttered, and Shaeula stirred, her eyelids fluttering, before she slipped back into slumber. Looking down on her, I tried to push aside the lingering misgivings from yesterday. I did what I had to do. It was justified. They.. they were going to kill innocent people. And what would they do to Shaeula if they caught her? Lurid images of old movies where aliens were dissected in gleaming laboratories crossed my mind, and I felt nausea once more, my guts lurching. Turning on the tap in the kitchen I quickly gulped down handfuls of cold water, settling my stomach. Wiping at my mouth, I continued to prepare breakfast.

Last night was rough. I’m not used to negotiations with important people, though they did seem to listen to me and my wants. Perhaps that’s the Majesty at work? I don’t know… still, one thing was clear, and it was something I had pondered on, and would likely have the chance to discuss tomorrow, if this Fujiwara-san was as great as everyone said. Maybe he should be Fujiwara-sama then? No, that would weaken my own position, showing too much deference. I need to remember I have valuable knowledge, contacts and power. I can’t let people walk all over me for no reason.

Still, I had been indiscreet repeatedly. Always for good reasons, or so I thought, and I’d gained many benefits, but… also many enemies. But even if I had been discreet, Exposition-san had estimated there would be a few thousand Candidates in Japan alone. That meant there could be anything up to fifty or even a hundred thousand worldwide. The population of a medium-sized town sure didn’t seem a lot, but, to keep everything secret with that many voices…

It doesn’t matter what I do, sooner or later this is going to be exposed to the world. As of now it seems largely confined to those who already had influence or legacy knowledge, such as the shrines and temples, and those who can easily access information, such as governments, but… while I suspected the Candidates would fall into three categories… no, actually four… it would only take one to do something in the public eye that couldn’t be covered up to crack everything wide open. Some will refuse the call. Most will be smart enough to try and keep it largely secret as I had. Some… alas… will have already died. And the last group… there were always idiots who sought fame over security and safety. I expected governments and agencies would try and keep it covered up, at least for now, so they could monopolise the benefits, hence why Shaeula and I were targeted, but Candidates with exceptional skills and abilities would not be so easily leashed…

As I worked, deep in thought, Shaeula was suddenly behind me, padding out on bare feet, yawning cutely. “Akio, good morning indeed. Did you sleep well? Wait, do not-not answer that, I can see that you have not-not.” She put her arms around me, and I could smell her scent, sweet and calming. “Talk to me. I am here-here.”

With a sigh I turned to face her, kissing her gently. “Sorry for worrying you. I am fine, I promise. I know I did the right thing, and that the agents had crossed the line and deserved to die. They were only doing their jobs, they might have argued, but… anyway. I know in my head it was justified, but even so… the human heart is a complicated thing. But I’ll get over it, I know. After all…” I laughed a bit falsely, my tone a touch shrill. “My Resilience is off the charts. I’ll recover in no time!”

Shaeula looked up into my eyes, before nodding a little. “I see-see. Well, I shall endeavour to do my best to comfort you, have no-no fear. However, I do not-not understand the guilt in the way you do. The Seelie Court has been at war with the Unseelie for many-many long centuries, as well as the Wild Hunt and other foes. Death, killing and battle are no strangers to us, though until I came to this land, I had not-not been involved in fighting. Still, I believe they deserved their fates, so my words might offer you little solace.” She kissed me again, tenderly, just a fleeting brush of our lips. “I suggest you seek-seek aid from Eri later. She will understand and know what to say.”

Eri huh? “It’s not that I don’t want to, but… I’d be ashamed to tell her I’ve killed someone. No, not one. Two. Honestly, ever… ever since we were kids, I’ve always wanted to appear as someone she can respect and admire, who’ll keep her safe. To have her know… well, I won’t say I’m a murderer, because I’m not, but a killer anyway…. I don’t like it.”

“Silly Akio.” Shaeula wrapped my head with her knuckles, the way she stretched to make it happen cute. “If Eri, or Aiko, or I… if we were in danger and there in front of you, you would not-not hesitate, even if you feared we would disapprove. I know this. So do not-not be a fool. Simply tell her of the lives you saved and the price it cost, and she shall-shall surely understand and comfort you.”

I see. That simple, huh? I often forgot, since my current life was packed full of crazy events every day, but it had only been mere weeks since I had started dating Eri, and days for Shaeula, even if Boundary time lengthened this somewhat. Shrugging, I turned my attention back to breakfast after ruffling her hair affectionately, and soon we were digging in to quite the morning feast…

********

“Well, we have a ton to do today. at least I do. So, what are your plans?” I asked Shaeula, as I finished washing up.

“I shall accompany you of course.” Shaeula answered. “But first I shall take a bath. Yesterday was quite-quite the ordeal.”

As Shaeula headed off for the bathroom, I once more mused on how spending all the cash to get a massive bath put in was totally worth it. Taking my phone I fired off a quick message to Karen-chan, getting a response that she was at one of my new hotels, dealing with a few bits of administrative work. Damn, I’m starting to feel she needs a pay rise. And some assistants…

Stepping out into the morning sun, I decided to once more pay a visit to the shrine to apologise again. They had absolved me of any blame last night, but even so, my guilt wasn’t so easily squashed. On arriving at the shrine I was greeted by Nagi-san and Daichi-san, and before I could get out an apology, Daichi-san spoke first.

“Ah, Oshiro-san, excellent timing.” He smiled at me, more warmly than I would have expected. “We had been meaning to speak to you.”

“I see. Before you do, I’d once again like to apologise for…” I began, but Nagi-san cut me off.

“Now, now, Akio-kun. No need for that. We understand you feel guilty, but you handled the danger without us being put in harm’s way, so I feel, and Daichi and father-in-law agree, that you kept your word. So…” she turned to her husband, who nodded.

“We’ve decided, Oshiro-san. We will do as you have requested and sign over the shrine to you.”

Wait, what? This came out of nowhere, they were so hesitant before. The timing is perfect, as we have nearly finished the Anchor upgrade, but still…

Seeing my hesitation, Daichi-san smiled. “Don’t worry, my father also agrees. To be honest… it was Kana who persuaded us. She seems to have a lot of faith in you, Oshiro-san, so don’t let her down. Besides… having seen more of Shaeula around the shrine, I can’t help but wonder what it would be like if the White Snake kami could walk the earth as well. You did say it could be done by Christmas, right?”

Kana-chan, huh? Shaeula mentioned she had started training her ahead of schedule, perhaps that motivated her to push her parents.

“I think so. Perhaps even sooner but I’m not promising.” I answered, knowing that using up a precious slot on a Throne of Heroes was a tough choice to make. I had ideas for several I wanted to designate as a Hero, but my final choice would have to wait. “So… if you are really sure about this, then have you chosen a lawyer? If not Karen-chan can sort you out with one, as well as the required funds.” Sorry Karen-chan, I’ll make it up to you, I promise! I’ll leave you a bottle of good booze in your office.

“I’ll speak to her.” Daichi-san agreed. “There was one other matter though, that I hope you will look favourably on.” He paused, looking a little unsure, glancing at his wife. Nagi-san smiled broadly, looking at me earnestly.

“We won’t speak of it now, but in addition to keeping your word and not misusing the shrine or cheating us, we would ask… no, never mind. Later.” Nagi-san shook her head. “Speaking of other matters, Kana is having a group of friends from school over on Sunday, and she was hoping that you’d be kind enough to give her some money so that she can buy drinks and snacks, and let them use your home, since it has a lot of stuff to play with? It’s an impertinent request, I know, but surely you won’t refuse a cute girl like my Kana?” she fluttered her eyelashes at me flirtatiously, but I knew she was joking as her husband was standing right there.

“Kana will come ask you herself, as is proper.” Daichi-san elaborated. “But since you are here now we thought we would ask. On another note, Kana has managed to speak to Kikuchi-san, one of her classmates, and the daughter of Hisuikomushi shrine. Her father has agreed to meet with us on Sunday. So consider this a reward for her hard work.”

The priest at Hisuikomushi? Excellent. He’s an Astral Emperor-candidate, and his shrine will be in my domain when the Anchor upgrades. Plus I need to resettle the Jade Beetle kami there as promised. If he can help me with that… Smiling broadly, I pulled out a few ten thousand yen notes from my wallet and passed them to Nagi-san. “Sure, I’ll make sure Shaeula and I are out of the way on Sunday then. You can tell her she’s done a good job.”

“I think if you tell her yourself she’d be more appreciative. Besides, I don’t think there’s any need to make yourself scarce. It is your home now, and Kana might appreciate showing you off… err, having a man about the place to chaperone them all. ” Nagi-san said slyly. “Anyway, thank you again for looking out for us. I know you think that you brought danger onto us, so it doesn’t count but… look at poor Hisuikomushi shrine. Who can say that wouldn’t have been us, without your interventions?”

We finished up our conversation, and as I left to retrieve Shaeula and head into Tokyo proper, I pondered those words. Yeah, the White Snake kami would be a target for sure… either enslaved by Kiku or worse… maybe, just maybe, I’ve saved them by being here. At least, can I believe that?

********

Back at home, Shaeula and I were relaxing after a busy day. I had gone to a rather expensive tailor in central Tokyo and spent several hours having a suit fitted. It was an off-the-shelf job rather than tailor made, and after several hours of being used as a dummy and a hefty rush payment, I would be picking it up before the party tomorrow. Of course, my expenditure didn’t stop there, with shirts, ties and accessories for me, as well as more clothing for Shaeula added to our purchases. One pleasant surprise I found when I went to pay was that my account balance was significantly higher, and Shaeula told me gleefully she had been using my online accounts to gamble while she was playing games and watching anime, and had won significant sums. She wouldn’t stop bragging until I had stroked her head and praised her, so after that we went out for a meal.

A different surprise was when, during said dinner, my phone beeped, a notification from my new Midas Gold banking app alerting me to a transaction. Thinking it was probably Karen-chan sorting out the money for something, I didn’t think much of it, until… even thinking about this leaves me feeling a mix of equal parts discomfort and awe…

On checking the app, I found that there had been a deposit of ten million… but it wasn’t in yen, that was ten million US dollars! A billion yen! The payment was marked from ‘International Compensatory Fund, Charitable Division’, but it had clearly come from the Ministry of Defence, probably by way of the USA. They certainly didn’t waste any time gouging the US over the incident. Not that I can blame them. Idly I wondered how much the country had profited if I alone made a billion yen. After that the Tokyo fund manager for Midas Gold called to congratulate me and offer numerous high-value investment products, which I declined for now, but would have to revisit later, and I even received a text from Ms Connors, congratulating me and saying that while she expected me to meet their high expectations, it was a surprise that it happened so quickly. I guess news travels fast…

Anyway, after all that and a few other minor distractions, I was now watching Shaeula play one of her games, admiring her beauty. Checking my watch, I saw that it was late enough that Eri should be back from school. Not relishing making the call, but admitting to myself I was hoping to get some kind words of forgiveness, the reality of the acts I had committed weighing on me, I quickly dialled the number I knew without even needing to go to my contacts.

When Eri’s voice greeted me, bright and happy that I had called her, it did feel like a small weight had lifted. We exchanged greetings, talking about her day, and about how hard she was working both at school and in the Boundary. It still worried me that she was there alone, only the attendants of Chairoakitara shrine to assist her, but since she was unharmed it proved she was doing her best to be careful.

“All right then.” Eri said finally, as our conversation started to run dry. “While I’m always happy to hear from you, there’s something else, isn’t there? I can tell. You seem a bit distracted.”

No fooling Eri, I guess. She’s been watching me closely for more than a decade. “Well… yeah, I guess. So, yesterday evening…” I spoke, hesitantly at first, but with growing intensity as she listened avidly, only speaking to make affirming noises when required. When I was done, there was a long interval of silence from both of us, before Eri finally spoke.

“You know…” she began, her voice expressing no hesitation, calm and composed. “… I’m not as nice a girl as everyone thinks. People are even making fun of me at school now over that, now I talk to more people and say what’s on my mind.” I could imagine her pouting at that, cheeks puffed out in disquiet, and I smiled myself at the thought. “If it came down to it, and it was a straight choice between your life and a strangers, or Aiko’s, or Shaeula’s… our mother, father… Uncle and Auntie… I may be heartless, but it isn’t even really a choice. Now I know what you are going to say…” she cut me off before I could voice my own rebuttal. “… that this isn’t that situation, that you directly killed these people to save someone else’s life. And I say… who cares? Don’t get me wrong…” she paused, and I could hear the first tremor in her voice.

“… I don’t feel good at the thought that you’ve killed someone. But if you ever think it’s because I’m scared of you, or hate you, I’m going to be seriously angry with you!” she avowed. “From what you’ve told me, the situation justified it. If I was that policewoman, about to be murdered, if someone killed the attacker to save me, I’d get down on my knees and thank them. After all, if I died, those who love me would be the ones to suffer, right?”

“But I didn’t have to kill them, I might have been able to…”

“I’m getting seriously annoyed right now.” Eri broke in. “I wasn’t there so maybe you didn’t have to, but… those who are prepared to kill have to be prepared to die, right? I’ve been going to the Boundary for a few days now, and I’ve taken up weapons and killed. Sure, they were all just strange monsters, but even so. I know I have that sin, and I’ll keep doing it, because it’s the only way to stand by your side, to be safe in this changing world. All that matters is you did it to help others, not out of evil intentions. I know it’s burdening you, and I wish I was there to help you get through this, but… I’m not.” She sighed then. “Seriously, Akio. I love you. your kindness, your bravery. Your need to sacrifice yourself for others, even if I sometimes hate that about you too. I don’t like to see you in pain. But… I’m glad you felt able to share this with me. I bet it was hard. Not what you’ve done, but… boys don’t want the girl they like to see them as anything less than a hero, right?” her tone lightened, the tremors fading away. “… but no matter what, you’ll always be my hero. And making the hard choose to save innocent lives despite getting your hands dirty… I think that’s a deed not many could do. And it may make me a wicked woman, but I’m proud of you!”

“I get that. And… I honestly don’t regret it. It’s just… maybe I could have done better, not let my anger get the best of me in the moment…?” I stammered, only for Eri to demand I put Shaeula on the phone, annoyed.

Passing Shaeula the phone, she took it, arm stretched back without looking away from her game. “Ah, Eri. Yes. Uh… I am doing my best.”

I could only hear her side of the conversation, but Shaeula was shrinking under whatever Eri was saying.

“I did tell him that. I believe it too. Yes-yes.”

“I tried to take his mind off it. In this world, those who do evil should-should be removed, yes.”

“I understand. I shall do it in your stead. When your birthday comes around…. Yes, I agree-agree. I shall do so, Eri.”

With that concluded, she handed me back the phone. “Akio. I’m sorry I can’t be there for you right now. I wish I was. But I’m glad you talked to me about this. If your burden is too heavy, Shaeula and I can each take our share. A burden shared is a burden lightened, right? I know you can get through this, and on my birthday, I’m going to spoil you rotten. So look forwards to that. But until then… Shaeula will pamper you until you are back to the carefree Akio we love. So I’m going to go now, all right? I love you!”

“I love you too.” I managed, feeling a little better. “But for your birthday I’ll be showering you with love, so…” It’s your birthday, you should be the one being spoiled.

“If we both spoil each other, that’d be perfect then.” Eri giggled. “Bye!”

As the call ended, I saw Shaeula had closed down her game, and was eyeing me warmly, kneeling by my legs, looking up at me. Licking her lips lasciviously, she spoke. “Eri has asked me to make you forget your worries, at least-least for tonight. So I shall not-not disappoint her!”

As her hands crept towards my belt I realised this might have been what I needed, so with a smile I allowed her to do her worst…

********

After we made love, Shaeula being particularly aggressive and eager, as if she was trying to fill in for Eri too, we spent the rest of the evening and early night just being in each other’s company, hugging and kissing. We watched anime, played games, had drinks and just generally relaxed. I felt a little guilty that we weren’t in the Boundary, taking care of things, but Shaeula assured me that taking time to rest and enjoy life was important too. Still, since I worried so, she did visit the Boundary for a brief few minutes, before returning, a little grumpy. Apparently Hyacinth had annoyed her, though she was behaving herself and not causing trouble.

Once I had tidied up all the empty bottles and food wrappers, we retired for the night, and slept just holding each other, listening to our heartbeats. And this night, I slept without bad dreams…

********

“So, here we are then.” I turned to Shaeula, who was looking stunning in a black cocktail dress and suitable golden accessories around her bare arms. She had changed her hairstyle as well, making it look more regal, the amber-golden hair piled up and pinned with fashionable and expensive pins and clips. “You look lovely.”

“Again? You have told me that many-many times already.” She sniggered, looking pleased. “Still, feeling your eyes on me is most pleasant. As for you… you pass muster as escort to this-this princess.”

I was wearing the suit I had picked up this afternoon, as well as an expensive watch, tie and shoes. It was a far cry from how I used to dress, and I was a little uncomfortable, but as I reached up to adjust my collar and tie Shaeula did it instead, her small hands neatly straightening it. It’s amazing how fast she picks these things up. I doubt they wear formal suits in the Seelie Court.

“We must remain dignified and regal.” She reminded me, looking up at the Fujiwara Imperial Hotel, one of the most exclusive hotels in Tokyo, and apparently owned and run by Fujiwara house. The name should have been the giveaway I guess, but I’ve never had to think about such things before. This is in a league of its own, making the hotel in Las Vegas seem rustic in comparison.

There were other richly-dressed people coming and going, men and women both. So, I reached out and offered Shaeula my arm. She took it, and with a murmured wish that Eri could have been here with us, we started heading for the entrance, the doors guarded by a mixture of hotel staff in impeccable uniforms and suited men and women that had the look of warriors, most likely Fujiwara Security staff.

Once inside, a smartly dressed young woman took our invitation and showed us to the lift, riding it to the top with us. Shaeula and I exchanged meaningful glances one final time, and then the lift doors slid open, revealing…