Ch287. Kaguya Otsutsuki 2

Rei waited until Kaguya calmed down her emotions which got him into a very awkward position. When she was distressed, their closeness didn't bother her and instead, it provided a measure of comfort but the more calm Kaguya became, the more self-conscious she got and Rei could clearly feel her squirm in his arms.

Deciding that she no longer needed him, Rei unhanded Kaguya and leaned a bit away from her before she also slid to the opposite side with a small blush, creating a gap between them.

Inwardly, Rei enjoyed the current atmosphere between them immensely. He pictured his meeting with Kaguya in many different ways but this was so unexpected that he couldn't help but marvel at his luck while getting the maximum amount of entertainment from the overpowered bashful woman.

Rei decided to stay silent, making sure to make Kaguya squirm to the extreme, only deciding to intervene when he felt she was reaching the limit of her patience. It wouldn't do for her to 'explode'.

"I don't understand..." Rei suddenly said, picking a topic to distract the distraught and fidgeting woman next to him, getting her utmost attention, "Why did you simply not beat your sons during your last fight?" He threw her a meaningful, yet piercing look.

Kaguya glanced at Rei, tightening her fists, "I wasn't strong enou-"

"Stop bullshitting me." Rei rolled his eyes at her in an annoyed manner.

"Bullshitting?" Kaguya tilted her head, not understanding the reference, causing Rei's eyebrows to twitch.

"It means 'stop lying to me'." Rei explained. "I can feel your chakra sealed in this seal. There is no way you were simply overpowered by your sons." He stated with a casual finality.

Kaguya lowered her head as a self-deprecating smile appeared on her lips, "I simply couldn't hurt them. They are my children, after all. That fact won't change, no matter if they betrayed me or not."

Hearing her reason, Rei hummed and inwardly rejoiced at the fact both Hamura and Hagoromo were already out of the picture. That would have complicated the situation immensely if that's how Kaguya felt about them despite everything.

Somebody could argue that Hagoromo was still present in the world but Rei would only snort at that. A person like Hagoromo, a self-righteous bastard who thinks his ideas and vision are the best, would long ago intervene in the ninja world if he could. That meant while the old coot most likely could see, he could not affect the happenings, which was just fine as far as Rei was concerned. Let the dead stay dead...

"You know that both of your children are long dead, don't you?" Rei carefully asked, wanting to confirm Kaguya's thoughts on the matter without making her realize his intentions. It wouldn't do to free her from the seal only to have her bring someone like Hagoromo back to the land of the living. That would suck so much! Rei was definitely not gonna do that... ever.

Kaguya's expression soured as pain flashed through her pupilless eyes while her forehead creased, making her closed third eye visible for the first time during their meeting, startling Rei. He was wondering why she had only two eyes but now he understood that her third eye socket was simply hidden.

"I figured... it's been more than a millennium, after all." She bitterly answered, evading Rei's gaze. Rei simply stayed quiet and waited for her to continue, not offering any comforting words or the like. It took a while but Kaguya did, indeed, eventually continue, "But I am also interested in what kind of world my children created." A small smile appeared on her face. "I can't say I don't want to smash it to pieces though." She sighed, "Their vision was the primary reason why we fought and I am still somewhat livid because of that. Strangely, when I am near you, my anger as if left me." She calmly smiled at Rei.

'I see... so as long as the taint from the chakra fruit in her chakra is kept in check, there will be no murder-happy rabbit goddess causing problems for me. Good to know.' Rei hummed, putting it into his mental notebook of seals he would have to develop.

"Would you bring them back to life if you could though?" Seeing that he would not get an answer to his secret question, Rei decided to ask her bluntly.

Kaguya was momentarily startled by Rei's question but then slowly blinked in a pondering manner before starting to slowly speak, mulling each word on her tongue with great care. "I... uh... I, I don't think so." Kaguya's face scrunched in hurt and self-blame.

Rei was inwardly happy when he saw her expression though. The sheer emotions conveyed told him that Kaguya was not just acting. She genuinely felt deep in her heart that she wouldn't resurrect her children if she could and it brought her a lot of confusion from which, pain and guilt were born. There was no greater confirmation that Rei had nothing to worry about in this regard.

"I..." Kaguya, not noticing the pleased glint in Rei's eyes, continued, "I'd like to say I would. In a heartbeat. But... I can't. I feel the desire but I also know I wouldn't be able to persuade myself to actually do it. They... They betrayed me." Kaguya spoke in a downtrodden tone before lifting her gaze towards Rei, "Does that make me a bad person? A bad mother?"

Rei gently shook his head in reassurance, "I don't know. That is a question you have to answer for yourself. Your children, however, chose their paths and the most you can do is respect their decision." He truthfully answered. As far as Rei saw it, both Hagoromo and Hamura were adults... more like corpses at this point... and as such, they had the right to decide for themselves.

Kaguya mulled over that answer, bringing yet another heavy silence between them. Rei almost thought he got her into a trance when even after an entire half-hour she didn't move but then, suddenly, a question was asked.

"How are you planning to free me from the seal?" Kaguya distractedly asked.

Rei blinked, looking at her, and noticed her face was still blank as if she was deep in thought. He realized she asked mostly to get her head thinking about something else than Hagoromo and Hamura. Rei happily obliged.

"I have to devise a counterseal that can unravel the one sealing you. There are many ways to do that but... well, finding the best one will be difficult." He said.

Kaguya slowly nodded, "Wouldn't it be better to just give me enough chakra so that I can blast the seal from inside out?" She curiously asked, distracted enough that her mood improved.

Rei, however, just snorted in reply. "You are not blasting anything, woman. The pocket dimension of this seal is literally located in the middle of the moon. Blasting the seal from inside out with pure force would result in blasting the moon itself apart. Which would result in the destruction of my planet." He explained. "So not gonna happen."

"Ah..." Kaguya sheepishly averted her head, feeling embarrassed at her suggestion.

"But..." Rei naturally knew why she was so impatient, "I reckon being in the seal alone must be lonely so I can tweak it a bit so you can telepathically contact me. You know... to have somebody to talk to." He said while inwardly sighing. His next few years seemed to be deprived of much privacy if the happy gleam in Kaguya's eyes was any indicator.

'Why must she be too cute to not take pity on her?' Rei lamented.