Survivors of the Divine War! A weak-willed Kami

All of the Kamis stood in a serene field full of flowers and surrounded by a forest. Several people lay against the trees or sat in odd positions, which Tenshi said was meditation. This place was called Middleworld, accessible only to the gods and goddesses. Tenshi had helped them get there by using teleportation. A farley young-looking woman with blond hair with a few ringlets in front and blue eyes looked down from searching the sky, and smiled.

"Hi, Tenshi," the woman exclaimed in a valley-girl type accent. This was Aphrodite, Greek goddess of love. Aphrodite walked gracefully towards them. "What brings you here?" Tenshi smiled back.

"I was hoping to find Fukurokujo so he could explain a few things," the Kami of Spirits replied, referring to the Japanese god of Wisdom and Stars. Aphrodite seemed confused, but then noticed the others.

"Who are they?" she asked, nodding towards Mizu and the others. Tenshi smiled.

"I told you I found more of the Element Kamis," she replied. "This is Mizu Kaori kami of water, Keitaro Kaori also a kami of water, Chiyu Kaze kami of wind, Nariko Hikarino kami of thunder and lightning, and Toshi Yukino kami of ice and snow." Mizu and the others weren't quite sure what to say, so said nothing. Aphrodite cocked her head as she examined them. Tenshi went off to look for Fukurokujo, and suddenly Aphrodite's eyes lit up.

"Now I see! Daikawa is Mizu!" she exclaimed. "They look just alike!" Mizu blinked her eyes.

"Excuse me?" she asked.

"Oh, Daikawa was the name of the Goddess of Water," Aphrodite explained. She then pointed to Chiyu. "And you, you're Zenkazuo." She then grinned mischievously. "It is said that Daikawa and Zenkazuo fell in love but were killed before they acted on it. I'm told that their re-incarnations might do that part." Mizu raised her eyebrows.

"Oh, really?" she asked, and Aphrodite nodded. "I hate to burst your pink, heart-shaped bubble but the day I love that guy is the day I die my hair pink." Aphrodite looked at Chiyu, but he just shrugged. Keitaro grinned.

"That can be arranged," he pointed out. Mizu stuck her tongue out at her little brother, when Tenshi approached with a tall, young-looking man with black hair (A/N: This may not be what Fukurokujo really looks like, but this is how I visualize him). There was then a crash in the trees, and Aphrodite put a look of terror on her face and ran off to see if it had been her son, Eros.

"Well? What are you waiting for; an invitation? Sit!" Tenshi exclaimed, and obediently, all the kamis sat down on the grass. She sat down also, leaving Fukurokujo the only one standing.

"Well, where should I start?" asked the god of wisdom and the stars. He then looked over each of the Kamis, one by one. "Ah, yes, the war.

"A very long time ago, as you know, there were Element Gods. One for water *switches to Mizu briefly*, one for thunder and lightning *switches to Nariko briefly*, one for air *switches to Chiyu briefly*, one for Spirits *switches to Tenshi briefly*, one for ice *switches to Toshi briefly*, one for fire, one for light, and one for earth. They watched over the earth and protected it as best they could. However, there were the Dark Kamis, the counterparts of yourselves, and as you probably guessed, they wanted to destroy you and take over earth. Of course you kept them at bay for a very long time, but being immortal does not mean you're perfect. That's when the war started. One by one, you were sucked of your immortality, until Daikawa, whom you now know as Mizu, was the only one left.

"Daikawa was a very stubborn one, which was probably why she was the last one left. Now Zenkazuo, whom you know as Chiyu, and Daikawa had fallen in love, and Daikawa was mourning the loss of him. That's when the kami of Darkness struck. He got Daikawa to trust him. And when Daikawa was most vulnerable, the Dark Kami suggested that they become mortals, and live life on earth, away from this war. Daikawa agreed to this, and she soon shed her immortality.

"Now the kami of darkness was not truly a Dark Kami; he wasn't really the counterpart of anybody. The plan had been to make Daikawa mortal, and then kill her. But he had fallen in love with Daikawa, and was unable to. He was going to warn her of the Dark Kamis plans, but the Dark Kamis of Earth and Fire got to the Water Goddess first, and when the kami of Darkness found her, she was already dead.

"In a fit of rage, the kami of darkness became uncontrollable. He vowed revenge on the Dark Kamis, and he got it. He tricked and killed the Dark Kamis, then killed himself so he might be with Daikawa again." At the end of the story, there was a moment of silence as this all sunk in.

"Sounds like some manga storyline to me," Toshi stated, and everyone animé fell, even Fukurokujo. He then got up, an extremely mad look on his face.

"HAVE YOU NO RESPECT?!!!!" he demanded, and a large sweatdrop formed on the back of Toshi's head.

"Well, I just think it sounds weird, that's all," he defended himself. "It's not everyday you hear a story like that." Mizu, meanwhile, looked thoughtful.

"But I've seen the Kami of Darkness, and he's with the dark kamis," she stated. "Does that mean he's back to being evil?" Fukurokujo sighed.

"Perhaps," he answered. "However, I believe that he, like his past life, is confused. I have a hunch that if his feelings for you have survived, that it will get very complicated. Not just for Mizu, but for all of you."

"So you're saying we should be careful?" Nariko asked, and Fukurokujo nodded. "Tenshi coulda told us that." Fukurokujo fell over again, and all the Element Kamis stood up.

"Well, Fuku, I do believe that we should be going," Tenshi said cheerily. "We'll have ta do this again! I'll bring tea and cake!" With that she concentrated, and they all soon disappeared.

***

Later that day, Nariko sat at her desk doing her math homework.

"Let's see," she said to herself. "If a=12 and b=9, then a x (b + 34) is..." She got a frustrated look on her face and slid her chair out and began sliding around her room in search of her scientific calculator when there was a loud crash in the hall outside of her apartment. Silently praying to whatever god or goddess was watching over her at giving her an excuse to prolong her homework, she ran off to see what was going on.

Upon opening the door to her apartment, Nariko's eyes went wide to see a girl with hair the color of healthy grass laying unconscious on the floor, a box laying beside her and several small trinkets and photographs laying scattered across the floor.

"Oh my god!" she yelled and ran to the girl and dropped to her knees beside her. A girl that looked no older than Tenshi with short black hair with a red stripe going through the middle leaned in the doorway of an apartment blowing a bubble with bubble gum. This girl looked very bored.

"Oh don't worry your prissy little head," she said in a voice to match her bored expression. "She does this all the time. Probably just to get attention, the little wench." The odd girl stood up straight and proceeded to walk over to Nariko and the girl.

"And you would be?" Nariko asked, slightly suspicious of the girls intentions.

"The name's Yumiko," she introduced. "And this little space-case is Michiru, my little sister." Yumiko picked up Michiru in her arms and proceeded to bring her into the apartment. She then looked back. "If you want to help, you can pick up all those things she dropped." Nariko stared after the two girls in wonder.

***

Mizu screamed as the bell rang to begin class, and she tossed her suit-case style backpack in her locker and ran at top speed towards her room.

"The power just had to go out, didn't it?" she demanded, taking a quick glimpse at her watch while continuing to run. "Stuck in the subway for an hour; what a nice way to spend the morning."

"You'd better not faint during class Michiru," someone outside of Mizu's classroom was saying. Mizu looked to see two girls dressed in the girls' uniform. One looked extremely delicate, with grass-green hair and eyes the color of the ocean. The other, the one that had talked, looked older, with short black hair with a red stripe going through the middle and purple eyes. "I won't be here to help you and I'm sure your classmates won't want to help." Michiru nodded, and the older girl walked off towards the third year classrooms. Mizu looked at her watch, and she quickly ran to her classroom. The girl looked around and sighed with relief to see that the teacher wasn't there yet.

"Miss Kaori, could you please take your seat?" the teacher asked from the doorway. Mizu frowned and sat down in her seat next to the window.

***

"I heard that girl was kicked out of her old school because she missed so many days," a girl commented that day at lunch, staring at Michiru, who was laying on the grass under a tree, taking a nap.

"I heard that her older sister went to juvenile hall for under-age smoking," another commented. A shadow fell over the two, and they looked up to see Yumiko.

"Under-age smoking? That's a new one," she commented. "Never touched the stuff myself. Disgusting habit to get into." With that, she walked over and sat beside Michiru's sleeping form. Mizu stared at the scene from her place on the black top.

"But seriously, why DO you think those two just happen to show up now?" she asked. Chiyu shrugged and swallowed a spoon-full of fried rice.

"Who knows?" he asked. "Could just be a coincidence." Nariko, meanwhile, was staring at Michiru with concern. Just as Yumiko left to go inside, Nariko stood up.

"Nariko, what's the matter?" Mizu asked as the blond began walking towards Michiru.

"I'm going to meet her," Nariko replied. Mizu blinked.

"Hey, wait for me!" she exclaimed, running after her. She then ran back and grabbed Chiyu.

"Come on, smart guy. We're not doing this alone," she told him, dragging him behind her.

"What about lunch?" he complained, earning an eye roll from Mizu. Nariko sat down beside Michiru, and Mizu and Chiyu walked up behind her. Mizu blinked.

"Just what are you doing?" she asked. Michiru didn't move or even open her eyes.

"I'm re-energizing," she replied. "The earth gives me energy, and in turn I help it protect itself." Nariko blinked.

"What do you mean?" she asked. Michiru rose her arm up, still keeping her eyes closed. A group of third years were walking inside, leaving their trash from lunch on the ground. The earth soon began to rumble, and the group were knocked off their feet and right back to where they left the trash.

"Yumiko says littering is an act of evil," the green-haired girl commented. Mizu then grinned.

"I can do something like that," she exclaimed, somewhat out of character. She looked around and saw another group of litter bugs. "Watch this!" Michiru opened her eyes, watching the sea-green haired girl curiously. Mizu held up her hand and suddenly, there was a rumble, and a stream of water burst through the earth, knocking the littering people to their feet and washing them and the trash near a trash bin. Michiru did not even blink. And what she said next made everyone's jaws drop.

"I had a dream with people that looked just like you," she commented. She then looked at Nariko. "And you were there, but different. And you were my best friend. I remember there were others there. There were eight of us in all, but if you count our counterparts, there's sixteen." Michiru then closed her eyes again and smiled. "It wasn't a dream though, was it? The Earth was telling me something." Michiru then ran her fingers through the somewhat long grass and looked as if she was listening to the earth. "You're going to take me to the one with hair with lots of colors and psychic powers, aren't you?" Nariko smiled and nodded.

"Do you need help?" she asked. Michiru nodded.

"Yes, please, I'm tired," she replied. Mizu and Chiyu exchanged glances. Nariko certainly seemed to like Michiru. This was the first time she'd ever acted this nice. Michiru then took a good look at Mizu and Chiyu.

"I remember you two as well," she said. "It was such a tragic story. I love romances." Mizu didn't even have the heart to yell. She just smiled. Somehow, when Michiru said that, it didn't sound wrong.

"Just don't expect that to happen in this lifetime," was all she said. Michiru smiled.

"Of course not," she replied. "Chiyu doesn't have to die this time." Both Kamis animé fell.

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Michiru: Next time on Shinki no Kami, I get to meet Tenshi, who takes it upon herself to help me learn to get more energy so I'm less weak. Meanwhile, Shinjuku Junior High is holding a song-writing contest, and the winner gets to sing their song with world famous singer Angeletta Blanche. But could that concert be the next target for the Dark Kamis? Wait and find out!