—Yasaka POV—
I inherited the title of Elder of the Youkai Clan at the young age of sixteen after my mother was taken from us during a raid led by Rizevim. That bastard killed my father right in front of me, his blood splattered all over my cowering self as I lay there pleading for his mercy. My mother, who he took back to his lab alive, foolishly believed up till the very end that Amaterasu and the Shinto Gods would come to save us…but they never did, like always. Those of us left after the attack took what meager belongings we could carry, and left the only home we had ever known.
Leading our splintered people was not an easy feat as many older people refused to follow someone as young as me. Fearing that I would blindly drive our people into the ground with my inexperience and lack of knowledge, many sought refuge in places far away from the lands we called Japan. Of those who remained, none would share council with me as it was expected of me to shoulder this burden alone as none of them wanted a share of the failure I might bring about.
Over the years, our situation grew worse as many droughts and famines slowly chipped away our ability to farm normally. During the worst years, families would leave the safety of our villages and head out to forage for food. These foraging trips resulted in a sharp increase in fatalities as the Devils regularly attacked those desperate souls who were too weak to run away. The reason we knew it was the Devils was that, on a few occasions, they would let a child or crippled adult come back so they could show us they had us by the throats.
Eventually, everything came to a head, and I was unable to continue watching those I cared about disappear without a word. Taking my discontent to our supposed allies, I attempted to meet with Amaterasu, but instead was only granted an audience with Lord Susanoo. Sitting down to discuss our arrangement, I asked them why they continued to fail us when we need their protection. It was his answer that shattered my faith in Heavenly Pantheons…
"We have not failed to live up to that agreement, not even once.", Susanoo scolded me, "Your ancestor made the pact with us, but it was never agreed upon that we would protect you from the Big Three Factions, just the smaller ones. Had that been the case, the monthly offering would have been substantially more. While we are a strong Pantheon, we would not risk the Devil's Wrath for the measly offerings you have provided us."
Staring at him in utter disbelief, I asked him if that had been made clear to my ancestor back then. Knowing that there was no mention of that condition in my ancestor's diary, I knew we had been taken for fools all this time.
"It was not verbally stated, but she should have known better given what she offered us.", Susanoo replied with an uncaring tone, "I mean really, you barely provide enough food for us to live on for a single day."
'That food would be enough to feed one of our villages for a month!!', I thought as I bottled up my anger and frustration.
Realizing that for generations we had been sacrificing ourselves for nothing, the world came crashing down around me. Having taken up the responsibility of gathering up the offering from all the households every month, as my mother once had, I began to feel physically ill all of a sudden. The realization that I had been taking food from starving families to feed these ungrateful deities filled me with despair. I had on numerous occasions watched families decide which children could eat, and which had to go without meals. Even though it was the Shinto Gods that betrayed our trust, it ultimately fell on my shoulders as my family had allowed this to happen.
"That said…we might be persuaded to fight for your faction if you were willing to offer women to some of us.", Susanoo said staring at my body, "Give us two dozen of your finest women every year, if you do that, we will ensure your safety against all your enemies including the Devils."
Feeling a knot forming in my stomach, I wanted to scream profanities at him for suggesting such a thing. They had misled my ancestor all those years ago, and now expected an even steeper price for the protection we should have had all along. Unwilling to agree to such a request, I decided to look elsewhere for aid.
"I…I will discuss this with the rest of my clan.", I said gritting my teeth, "Please give us some time to think about this."
"Fine, just know the price may go up next time.", the Shinto God remarked causally.
Storming out of their Heavenly Temple, immediately began searching for a new Protector our faction. Meeting with any Pantheon who would listen, I pleaded with them for aid going as far as groveling at their feet to get it. Every single leader that met with me demanded completely unreasonable requests like becoming their slaves, the privilege of taking every young woman's innocence, and even becoming a whorehouse for their upper ranks. As my options started to dwindle, I began to realize that I may have to make a very difficult choice.
'I…I can't do this.', I thought as I returned to the Head Village, 'Any path I take will only further increase our suffering, and I have no way to guarantee that they will live up to their obligation.'
Upon returning to the village, I learned that in my absence three of our villages had been completely wiped out by the Devils. The few remaining survivors had staggered into my village on the verge of death. Looking to me for guidance and wisdom, I had to look into their eyes and tell them that everything would be okay…even though I knew it wouldn't be. Unable to continue shouldering the pain any longer, I finally decided to accept Lord Susanoo's terms as it was the least detrimental to my people.
Deciding to talk with him during the Ceasefire Conference, I came fully prepared to give myself to him along with the first offerings to shoulder my family's failures. As I sat there looking at him, my resolve began to wavier as I didn't want to be reduced to a toy for the Gods. Just as I was about to speak with him, that was when Cole arrived in our world. I stood in the back of the group, but I could still hear him berate Lucifer without reserve. Making my way to the front, I watched him playfully kill Lucifer with a single blow to the head while his most devoted followers stood by helpless to stop him. Even after their leader was dead, not a single one of them raised a hand to fight him as they were all terrified of his strength.
Watching him causally interact with the leaders of the Big Three Factions as if they were nothing to him, I knew I had to secure his protection no matter the cost. Pushing my way to the front of the group, I threw myself at his feet and pleaded with him for help. Telling him about our plight, I offered myself to him hoping he would be satisfied with just one woman. Even though I was throwing away any chance at happiness, at least my people would continue to live on in peace.
—3rd Person POV—
"In the end, Cole turned down my offer and told me that my body should be cherished by the man I loved. As a woman, do you understand the feeling I got when I heard him say that?", Yasaka cried loudly, "For the first time, a deity treated me more than just a piece of meat!! There was no lust in his eyes, just kindness and compassion for our plight!! Taking our situation into consideration, he asked for only a mere five jugs of sake a month from us. The sense of relief I felt at that moment I cannot begin to express with words. I accepted his offer without any hesitation as it felt almost too good to be true."
Looking at one another, Cole's wives understood how much of a relief that would have been to a woman in her situation.
"Not only did he bestow upon me a power that I could only dream of, he immediately demanded the return of our most recent victims. Telling them that he would rampage across their territory for just a few of us, I knew then and there that I had found the Protector we had been desperately needing all this time.", Yasaka said wiping her eyes, "A short time after the Devils agreed to release them, the friends and villagers I thought would never come home appeared in front of us completely unharmed. Tossing aside the dignity that a leader should have, I ran to them and embraced each of them and began crying tears of relief with them."
"I understand now, you don't have to-", Sapphire started to say but Yasaka cut her off.
"That isn't all, that very same night Cole sent us lifesaving supplies that we were in desperate need of. For the first time since I had taken up this position, I was able to bring smiles to all of my people as I handed out weeks' worth of food to them!!", Yasaka proclaimed as she grabbed Sapphire's dress, "I was able to see smiles on their faces that I had not ever seen before!! The relief and tears of joy all of them had…I can still remember it all clearly in my mind!! It was the very first night in decades that all of us were able to go to bed with a full stomach."
"We know that feeling far better than you realize.", Elouise informed her, "Some of us have endured decade long famine and drought, and have watched families decide which child would have to slowly starve to death every fall. Very few parents could bring themselves to kill their children so day after day we would watch them slowly wither away with despair in their eyes. It was Cole who turned things around and brought life back to our dying world."
Looking at her and the others with shock, Cole's wives began telling her about all the feats he had done from resolving the famine to creating World Peace. Hearing about many of his exploits, Yasaka was certain that Cole was the man she wanted to be with for the rest of her life no matter what.
"Not then, I am sure you have many more things you want to tell us that made you fall for him but there is no need to. I think we can all agree that Yasaka does love Cole.", Sapphire stated with a nod, "Does anyone here have a reason not to accept her as one of us?"
Glancing at one another for any responses, none of them spoke up in complaint. Settling the matter now, Sapphire extended her hand to Yasaka with a smile on her face.
"While you might not be family quite yet, it is a pleasure to have you with us in this sisterhood. It may be a bit rough at times keeping up with his antics and adventuring but know that to Cole nothing is more important than family. He has always moved Heaven and Earth to protect us from danger, even if it makes him the enemy of the world.", Sapphire told her as Yasaka took her hand.
"I know that Eri has told me all about how wonderful of a father Cole is.", Yasaka admitted with a beaming smile, "Hopefully our future children will get to enjoy the same love and affection she has received."
"That a girl!!", Leona purred with a smirk, "While I accept her as one of us, we should also probably tell her about that subject too. She should know everything about the family if she is going to be one of us."
"What is it that I should know?", Yasaka inquired.
"It is easier to show ya…", Gearnia remarked with a solemn look, "Follow me."
Following the Dwarven woman, the group weaved their way through the city to a quiet place near their castle. Poking her head into a large alleyway, Gearnia could see Cole standing in front of a mural taking the sight in. Motioning for Yasaka to come up to see, the Kitsune took a peak and saw Cole standing there all alone. Asking them if the mural was important for some reason, most of his wives grew quiet suddenly as they looked on at the mural too.
"Those are their adult children and grandchildren.", Shino informed Yasaka, "Cole has been through hell just like you, he missed out on a lot because of the God of Reincarnation. When they came down seeking revenge against him…he was unable to save any of them during the attack."
Glancing over at the women, all of them were tearing up as they looked at Cole. Placing his hand on the mural, Cole began to softly cry and apologize repeatedly for failing to save them. Falling to his knees as tears streamed down his face, all of them heard him wish that he could just see them one last time and hold them tightly again. Seeing such a powerful man like him crying for the loss of his children and grandchildren, Yasaka's heart mourned for their loss.
"This is a side of Cole that you will rarely ever get to see as he does his best to hide his pain behind a smile.", Vivian sniffled, "If you ever happen to see him like this, we need to-"
Moving before she could finish, Yasaka ran to Cole and held him tightly from behind. Following suit the rest of his family joined them and wept for the loss of their family together in front of the mural.