Aiyo sat with Shizen, her husband, and her children as the sounds of battle raged outside the palace walls. Looking at Takeo she could see how torn he looked. Parr of him wanted to run and join the fight, the other realized his mother and his family needed protection. This now led to the three tail kitsune pacing anxiously.
"Darling you need to relax," Aiyo pleaded.
"How can I relax," he exclaimed. "Our people are being slaughtered! I should be out there!" Aiyo fidgeted nervously, Takeo was no warrior. He was a scientist, a gentle soul, a kitsune that had shown her the beauty of life when she wished to end it. Aiyo had little doubt Takeo would meet with a gruesome end if he ventured outside the palace.
"I need you here Takeo," Shizen said softly. "Your wife needs you, your children need you. I know you wish to help but you are doing that by remaining here." Takeo simply grumbled, punching a wall as the trio now gazed at the series of screens before them.
The palace security had undergone some improvements over the years, most notably a high tech camera system that allowed them now to see the Normal. Aiyo shuddered watching as the fired on any kitsune that moved. What worried her though now was the 20 or 30 soldiers moving towards the rear of the palace.
"They're breaking through," Aiyo thought in alarm. Turning towards her family she could see the looks of concern on their face. Shizen maybe able to defeat them but at what cost. How many would die defending the palace?
"Takeo I will be right back," Aiyo said quickly, leaving her befuddled husband as she entered a side room, slamming the door.
What Aiyo was about to do was a last resort, a hail Mary that could very well backfire. Years ago she had summoned a shinigami, a reaper who would take her soul to prevent the wizards from reaching an infant Fukushu had stolen. Theough pure chance she had somehow avoided death. Now she would try courting death once more. This time to try and save her family.
Aiyo had always been an exceptional artist, now she put her skills to the test. Quickly she now went about the ceremony to summon the shinigami, lighting candles, burning incense, and drawing the necessary symbols to summon forth death. With baited breath she now watched the shadows as she competed her ritual.
The shadows now began to mass, moving outwards as the candles blew out. The three tail kitsunes eyes now going wide as the massive reaper now floated before her, his eyeless gaze causing her pale kitsune to shudder.
"Aiyo."
"Great shinigami I implore," Aiyo begged, lowering her head. "I beseech your favor for a task."
"Oh save me the speech Aiyo," the reaper groaned. "I'm still mad at you about last time. Do you have any idea how much trouble I got in for helping to kidnap a demigod!"
Aiyo was speechless, trembling as the reaper now hovered before her. She was supposed to celebrate her 400th birthday not long after Takeo. Now she feared today would be her last.
"You summoned me decades ago," he hissed. "Promised me your soul and never told me it was to prevent makes from rescuing a demigod! Do you have any idea how angry the gods of the underworld were?!?"
Aiyo could only stammer a weak apology as the reaper continued.
"Not only did I not claim a soul I helped kidnap a child connected to the gods themselves. I was demoted for that, forced to collect the souls of goldfish. GOLDFISH AIYO! Do you have any idea how humiliating that is for a shinigami?"
"I apologize," Aiyo said weakly. "And I wish to make amends by offering you dozens of souls."
The reaper paused in his ranting, an deafening silence now hanging over the chamber. "I'm listening," he said.
"Right now soldiers of the Normal invade this palace. I offer you their souls in exchange for the safety of my family."
"All of their souls," the reaper asked. "Whats the catch?"
"No catch," Aiyo stated. "Think of this as payback for our past dealings. Now, would 20 or 30 souls put you back in the good graces of the gods?"
The shinigami paused, Aiyo now knelt before it with baited breath. "I am intrigued," he said. "But if this is a trick I should return to claim your soul Aiyo."
Aiyo simply nodded, watching as the shinigami faded once more into the shadows. Aiyo now listened to the cries of men. Frantic, frightened cries now echoed throughout the palace accompanied by the sounds of gunfire. Suddenly all was silent, Aiyo trying to figure out what happened.
The kitsune now gasped as the shinigami returned, trailing behind now were a mass of chains. Chains that imprisoned 30 souls which begged for mercy.
"Consider the debt repaid," the shinigami stated. Without another word it now vanished, the souls struggling to keep from vanishing into the underworld. Aiyo now shuddered, visibly shaken at the fact she had doomed those men to eternal suffering.