Let There Be Light

Quest Completed: Reasons to Live.

Completed: Learn Ninshū.

Completed: Do Not Commit Suicide.

Unsurprisingly, Minato did not look comfortable when I stepped into his office. He stiffened, and kneaded his fingers together in front of him, but otherwise kept his composure. "Shimoda-sama. What can I do for you?"

"Well, for starters, I want to talk about the bridge," I said, pulling up a seat in front of his desk.

Minato's face betrayed the fear he was feeling for about a second. Just a second, before he schooled his expression again. Dude knew how to keep a poker face; I'll give him that.

"First off, I'm not mad," I began. "But I am annoyed. You could've told me that Naruto had been sent to the bridge and I could've resolved this issue before it wound up interfering with my honeymoon."

"I apologize profusely for that misunderstanding," Minato said quickly. "I had meant to tell you, but I was…unsure of how you'd react. I wanted to get a better read of you and how stable you were in your return to Konoha before I said anything that would upset you again."

He's lying but whatever. I'll let him save face since he does realize he screwed up and attempting to tell a Ninja he's not supposed to lie is an exercise in frustration.

"Thank you," I replied with a slow nod. "I understand that it'd be difficult to trust that I wouldn't be easily upset, given how drastic the change is. I hope that in the future, we can avoid miscommunications like this. Apology accepted."

"Thank you," Minato said, looking visibly relieved. "I will do my best to make sure this doesn't happen again."

That last sentence can have multiple meanings, depending on how you read it. You are a manipulative little man, aren't you, Minato?

"Good. Now, as it happens, I need another favor from you," I told him.

"How can I help?" Minato asked with a smile.

"Anko and I recently made a trip to the Land of Iron," I began evenly. "We've both learned the beginnings of their spiritual tradition, Ninshū, also known as the progenitor of Jutsu."

Minato blinked. "Alright. Why?"

"It's something I've been wanting to learn for a long time," I explained. "We decided together that it'd be good for both of us."

Well, rather she got kind of insistent when she learned there was a quest to deter me from committing suicide, but I can let that slide. Besides, it was good.

"Okay." Minato nodded. "What did you need from me?"

"Our instructor pledged to serve Anko and I, in exchange for being taught Jutsu," I explained neutrally, careful to keep the flat, annoyed tone out of my voice, even though I was quite annoyed. "I need you to okay her immigration to the Land of Fire and give her permission to study Jutsu."

Minato blinked. Once. Twice. "Who is your instructor?"

"She's the Shogun's daughter," I said. Mifune's expression when Katsuki told him of her oath to us was the most fascinating mixture of rage and pride that I'd have ever seen in my life. "Since she needs something to do, she'll be keeping our compound for us while Anko and I are on our honeymoon."

He didn't say anything, trying to parse what I just said. "Why did she pledge herself to you, exactly? The Samurai hate Jutsu. With a passion."

Well, it was going to come out eventually. "Because I'm a god."

At first, his expression was annoyed, but then he thought about it. Then his eyes widened in surprise. "…that's how you learned how to bring the dead back, isn't it?"

"The Shinigami taught me as a 'deification day' present," I explained, now letting my vocal tone get flat and annoyed. "The Samurai, with their Ninshū, picked up on it almost immediately. It's the only reason the Shogun didn't try to have me killed for making off with his daughter."

Minato cupped his mouth in thought. "How did you do it?"

"Mix all five-element chakra's together and you get creation release," I told him with a shrug. "After that, I just thought about it for a few minutes and ascended myself."

He took a deep breath. Then he made to stand, and I held up a hand to stop him.

"Please, don't bow," I said. "I request that we remain on friendly terms. I am not interested in the idea of worshippers or having my own church."

"I understand," Minato nodded. "Um, what was her name? The girl who serves you?"

"Katsuki," I replied.

"I request that I be allowed to meet her," Minato said. "And ask her a few questions. Nothing too invasive. You can both be here for it."

"Excellent," I said, rubbing my hands together. "Let me go get them."

Then, I was back in the mansion I made in the compound. Anko and Katsuki were both sitting on the couch, apparently talking. "He said yes. Also, he knows I'm a god, now."

"He didn't know before?" Katsuki asked with interest.

"I was hoping to not let anyone know," I explained with a shrug. "But the god-card seemed like a useful option – he accepted your reason for pledging yourself immediately."

Anko hummed. "It'll only take another day before it's all over the village, which is good. It'll make things easier."

I blinked and frowned. "Just so we're clear, what exactly is your marriage gift?"

Anko froze for just a second, then straightened up in her seat and looked me straight in the eyes. "I am giving you a harem."

Figures. Entirely unnecessary, self-sabotaging and a desperate bid to curtail non-existent efforts to leave her. Sure, there's other reasons for it, which surprises me, but…it's unnecessary. "We're going to discuss it later."

"I know," Anko replied with a nod.

"Daisuke-sama?" Katsuki asked.

"Yes, Katsuki?" I addressed.

"If I may, and please correct me if I am being too forward with this," Katsuki began, taking a breath as she stood up. "I would be honored for the opportunity to be a part of your family in this way."

Part of the family?

That's not how I see it.

"I understand that you have a reason's for being against the idea," She continued. "But please try not to see it as…inherently negative."

Actually, part of the family is what she'd be wanting, in a twisted way. I kind of think she's taking advantage of my wife's emotional baggage to elevate herself politically.

Charisma Check Success: 10/8.

Look, I know she's enamored by the whole 'god' thing and actually wants to serve us, but come on. This isn't something people just jump onto willy nilly, she has to have some kind of selfish motive.

Intelligence Check Success: 10/5.

I know the only thing I felt is that she hates stagnation and that learning Jutsu is a giant deal to her, Game, but signing up for something like this, deliberately? Sure, she was probably raised with the knowledge that she would probably be married off to some noble for political reasons from birth and being harem'd off to a god is about the definition of political advantage, which she obviously used to convince Mifune and get out from under his thumb so she could learn jutsu in peace and she's pretty much got hearts in her eyes for me but…oh.

Huh.

Well, when you put all of those things together, suddenly it makes sense.

Still don't like it, though.

"Alright, let's head out," I said, rolling my shoulders.

I took both of their hands in mine. Anko leaned in and rested her head on my shoulder with a smile, only having to slouch a little since I was in my 'teen' form and Katsuki went a little still, her face going slightly pink.

With that, we were off to Minato's office.

Minato had stood up from his desk and upon catching sight of us, he bowed. "Daisuke-sama. Anko-sama. I presume you're Katsuki, daughter of the Shogun?"

"Yes, I am," Katsuki said with a bright smile. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Hokage-dono."

"And you as well," Minato replied. "I imagine you'd like to get this over with quickly, so I just have a few questions to ask you and then I can have your citizenship verified within the hour."

Hundred Ryo says he's already got her citizenship verified; he just needs to go through the motions so it doesn't look like he's throwing immigration law out the window. He pulled out a piece of paper and wrote her name at the top. "Okay, first question, why do you wish to immigrate to the Land of Fire?"

"To learn the art of Jutsu and teach Daisuke-sama and Anko-sama Ninshū," Katsuki said, her smile only getting brighter. "I've been fascinated by your ways for a very long time, and to have the opportunity to learn them is something I am quite blessed to have."

"Well, I'm sure you'll find some in the village that are just as interested in, what was it, Ninshū?" Minato asked, and she nodded. "Beyond Daisuke-sama and Anko-sama. By the way, how old are you?"

"I'm sixteen," Katsuki replied.

"Okay," Minato replied, marking that information down.

The questioning continued. Like Minato promised, it was fairly mundane and it was over with quickly. By the end, Minato was nodding as if completely satisfied and that this was a perfectly normal immigration interview and not heavily accelerated with her success guaranteed in a desire to smooth over what happened with the bridge. Whatever, it works for me.

"And that's it," Minato wrapped it up, tearing off the bottom part of the immigration form and handing it Katsuki. "Head on down to office 4-C. Hand them this and they'll take a picture of you. Afterwards, they'll have your card ready for you. Welcome to the Land of Fire, Katsuki."

"Thank you," Katsuki bowed, and he bowed in return.

"Okay, now that that's over with," I said after we teleported back into the mansion. "Katsuki, you'll find food in the fridge. It restocks itself at the end of each day thanks to the seal network's I placed on it. If you don't know how to cook, here's a map to each of the village's restaurants. Also, here's a key for the front door."

Katsuki took both of these things with a nod. "I will not let you down. Your home will be in safe hands."

"Here's some money for the restaurants," Anko said, pulling out a large sum of ryo out of a storage scroll that she'd been carrying with her for some reason. "You remember where your bedroom is?"

"Yes, second floor, third door on the right," Katsuki replied with a nod.

"One more thing," I said, creating a white-arm band and writing a seal to alert me if it gets activated. "Put this on. If you channel chakra through it, it'll sound the alarm in my head and I'll teleport here immediately. Use it only, and I mean only, if the house is being attacked by enemy Ninja or if the two other gods come knocking. In either case, hide once you've activated the seal."

"The other gods?" Anko asked curiously.

"Shinigami and Jashin," I replied, to their alarm.

"You have met Jashin?" Katsuki asked, only barely keeping her calm.

"He and Shinigami arrived at my vault not too long after my ascension," I explained. "They congratulated me and gave me gifts. Jashin, in particular, seemed eager to have some actual opposition for once in his immortal life."

"What does he look like?" Anko asked quickly.

"Long black hair with eyes that are red. The whites of his eyes are black." I looked up to remember what he was wearing. "Both times I met him; he was wearing a long, elegant, dark green kimono with scythe imprints on the shoulders."

"Okay. I will do my best," Katsuki said. "What should I do if I receive other visitors?"

"You can let them in, talk to them," I replied with a shrug. "Try to get their names first, use Ninshū stealthily if you can to figure out their true intentions. But yeah, no problem with you entertaining company. You might get some soon, if news of our house sitter from Iron gets out."

"Yup," Anko nodded with a smile. "I don't think there's anything else. Shall we be off, husband?"

"Sure, we'll take care of the Kaiju then go to the vault," I said with a shrug, feeling a little annoyed, still, at the whole situation.

Anko got this faraway look in her eyes as she looked at me.

"What's wrong?" I asked with a frown.

…that came out harsher than I wanted it too. Hm.

"Daisuke, would you prefer to handle that on your own?" Anko asked quietly.

"You can come along," I immediately responded. "I already said you could."

"But would you prefer to handle it alone?" Anko persisted.

…you know, for some reason, the answer to that is yes. "Actually? Yeah. Yeah, I would like to handle this on my own."

"Okay," Anko nodded, getting a sad smile on her face. "Go ahead. I'll wait for you here."

Wait. What? "Are you sure?"

Anko licked her lips. "Yes. Yes, I am. I'll be here when you get back, I promise."

…

Oh, now she's okay with me heading off to handle things on my own. That's just great. "Cool. See you later."

With that, I was in space, standing on the Kaiju's cage. I looked down and saw that, yeah, it's out of it's scroll and it's angry. But it was just standing there, completely still, like it was waiting for something. It didn't look up to look at me or anything.

Since the Kaiju is immune to Jutsu, I don't want to accidentally leave it behind by trying to teleport it and its cage to some forgotten backwater part of space. So, to handle that, I'm going to think with portals and create one.

The Cave Johnson.

According to my calculations of the celestial make-up of the stars, this spot was completely empty. According to my gut, it was a good spot for a new star system.

I pushed the cage fell through the portal, it already moving in orbit and the earth beneath us disappeared. Let's see, I can still feel the FTG seals back on Earth, right? Well, obviously I could feel them through the portal, but could I feel it the hard way?

Yes. Yes, I could feel them the hard way. I could get back home in an instant.

Had to make sure, you know?

In fascination, I watched the portal fade away into the stars.

Alright, let's get to work.

First things first, make a sun.

Solar Genesis.

Nebula gasses spontaneously flew from my hands and arms, swirling into each other at intense pressures in twin streams. They met together at a single point, putting themselves under intense pressure, which only got greater as more and more gasses were added.

You know, I knew my marriage was going to be hard.

After several minutes of adding more and more, the gasses finally erupted into blinding light, going into the nigh-endless Thermonuclear explosion, outputting more energy in a single second than any Ninja could ever hope to output over the course of their entire lives.

I knew it was going to be hard.

I really, really did.

Not an idiot. I'm impatient, not versed very well in romance, and really prefer to go with the flow far more than is necessarily healthy, but I'm not an idiot.

Second thing to do is make a few planets. Just enough to act as catcher's nets for any stray space debris. Maybe an asteroid belt?

Planetary Genesis.

Get some planets orbiting this new star of mine. A giant rock of iron and titanium over there, a few more complex planetoids over there, a couple gas giants…yeah. That's, what, six? Six new planets? Yeah.

Number 7 is going to be where it's at.

And I know that Anko has issues. I knew and I promised that I would never get mad at Anko for the mental scars Orochimaru left on her. But…I'm finding that I'm breaking that promise. I'm really, really mad at Anko right now.

So, number planet number 7, the second in orbit around the sun, was going to be reasonably earth-like, if only because the Kaiju was built and made to run on Earth and be the biggest camper on the block. Let's get all the minerals and gasses in place, get it as large as it needs to be.

Like, what? She couldn't just let me slip out for a few hours to handle an emergency? She couldn't figure out that I wasn't going to go kill myself? Or leave her? Can you imagine what her outburst would've done to me if I was still suicidal?

I might've actually gone off and done it, and then where'd Anko be? Eternally mourning and wracked with guilt because her godhood prevents her from dying?

Alright, let's make the oceans, here. Pull the land out from beneath the waves, yeah just like that. Kind of flat, though. Yeah, bland. Let's fix that.

Make a few mountains there. A humongous canyon there. Some streams…more mountains…a few more ravines. That ravine looks too artificial, let's rough up the edges and make it look natural. Yeah, that's better.

Seriously, if she explodes like that on me again, I'd have to shoot her or something.

Not that it'd do anything, since she's immortal but, well, still!

I thought she trusted me!

What's next?

…ugh, I'm so mad right now.

I touched down on the planets surface, which was rocky and desolate as far as the eye could see. No plant-life or animals anywhere. I set the Kaiju's cage down next to me, sending air rushing out like a windstorm as it rushed to move out of the way of mile-wide box.

Why am I so mad right now?

Because I married her and I thought we could handle anything that happened. But she exploded when I left to take care of something and now, I am contemplating shooting her. We haven't even been married for a week yet.

I sat down and took a deep breath.

Plants. Yeah.

We need some plant life on this rock.

Let's get to work.

I made every plant I could think of. Every pine tree, every species of grass. Some areas I wanted to leave deserts, so I put cactus there. Other areas I thought would make good swamps so I laid the plant life so thick in those areas and made sure they got tons of water. The oceans I dotted with coral and sea anemone.

Next, animals.

It was stupid of me to think I could get through this without getting mad. Anger was my most prevalent emotion for a very, very long time. Sure, I've been way, way happier since I got married, but…anger was my default state.

And it's an emotion, one that's not healthy to suppress.

So yeah, I'm pissed as hell at my wife right now.

Anyway, I'm getting distracted.

Animals! Toads! Slugs! Snakes! Penguins! Some other, more fantastical stuff like fire-breathing dragons! And unicorns! Because I can.

I remember when I was playing Oblivion, I came across this psychotic unicorn out in the middle of the forest. It killed my squishy, mage self whenever I drew a weapon. I loved it so much, I rolled a 'Divine Crusader' character and made that thing my horse, taking it everywhere.

Tigers! Orangutans! Lemurs!

Deer! Bears! Lions!

MONKEYS!

In my outstretched hand, I created a piece of paper and started listing all of the animals I placed on the planet and knew that it was lacking. Why? Sea life! I need tons of sea life!

Whales! Octopi! Fish!

Leviathans! Krakens!

I hate sharks, but I'm making them anyway!

Dolph-actually, wait a second.

Do I really want to make dolphins?

This is a serious question.

Do I want…dolphins?

Dolphin's are not…how do I put this, kind? They are not kind creatures.

They look cute. They act adorable. They love to play.

In them beats the heart of evil.

Well, I mean, every world needs its villain, I guess.

I'm drawing the line at placing Otters and Seals on the same planet together, though.

So, let's put seals here. Perfect, I love those things!

Otter's can find another planet. Mistaken identity can really sour interspecies relationships.

…there's also this harem thing, which makes me feel disgusted.

I mean, I know it's…culturally acceptable for men to have a harem in the elemental nations. In some places, so can women. And I did accept that I'm not the old me anymore, even if I still draw on his experiences for inspiration. I know that perhaps some of the old morals and standards, while having good reasons for existing, can also be called into question.

In my old life, I was raised heavily monogamous. I have no trouble with just sticking to Anko for eternity. Anko doesn't seem to understand that. She think's I'll leave her. She even thinks I should leave her. Because that's what Orochimaru did! Everyone she loves has to leave her, it's a tried and true formula for her. It's inevitable, so she provides herself buffers so she's not hurt by it as badly.

…I'm going to prove her wrong, but come on!

If only she could trust me.

Trust is built over time. Just be patient, Daisuke.

I took another deep breath, looking at the world I made. Watching the wildlife running around. The creatures I had listed, which had over a hundred species of animal, was wholly insufficient for the planet, so you know what I'll do?

I'm going to the bottom of the ocean and create some pools of primordial goo for new species to crawl out of.

Then when that's done, I might come back a few more times to add new species as I remember them.

From my spot at the bottom of the ocean, I saw a giant squid slowly glide overhead. Let's find a spot for some pools, maybe get an underwater river going, sweet. Then the pool.

Spawning Pool.

Seemed appropriate to have something dedicated to spouting off new species be named after a Zerg structure.

Alright, back to the cage.

But the other part of the issue is that Anko honestly, truly believes that a harem would be the perfect gift for me. She thinks I deserve it, for everything I did for her. For everything I've given her. From removing the seal, to nursing her back to health, to forgiving her…to loving her.

It's unnecessary. It's setting herself up for sleepless nights where she's terrified that I'm going to leave her, like she feels like I should do to fit the mold of what happens when people love her. It's inviting a ton, and I do mean a ton, of unnecessary drama when we haven't even worked the kinks out of our own marriage yet.

She feels like I had better options and that by picking her, I lowered myself. Screw that noise, I picked her because of how freaking awesome she is.

…that's not to say that I wouldn't love to have also been able to have a relationship with, Ino, Katsuki, maybe see if there actually could've been something there with Hisako, perhaps Mikoto, whoever this mystery soul that the Shinigami gave me is. So, a harem would be like having my cake and eating it too.

But I don't need that.

See, that's the other problem. She made me promise to accept something and I now just realized it's something that makes me feel queasy because, well, it's tempting. In that double-standard sort of way because I don't want her to have multiple men.

Come on, I'm a guy. I have absolutely fantasized about having multiple women before. Anko essentially being on board with it should be a dream come true. Except, well, no. I still would prefer to be monogamous. Just because that's how I was raised the first time and I haven't let go of all of my morals.

Look, we'll talk about it. Katsuki can just be there as our Ninshū instructor, Jutsu student and butler. I can maintain my friendships with Ino and Hisako without including sex, I can befriend Mikoto without her being my concubine if I want and I certainly can give this mystery soul a second chance at life without expecting anything of it.

Just take a deep breath, Daisuke. Let it out.

I think I'm okay now.

Anko has a right to get upset, it's how she clears the negative emotions to get back to being happy. She can talk and vent without blowing up at me though and it's something she'll need to work on.

Thing is? I have a right to get upset too. I won't dump it on Anko, though, because that won't actually help me solve my problems. Going off to be by myself and decompressing does, and I can't hesitate to do so when I need too.

Last thing to do.

Let the Kaiju out.

I hopped on top of the box and kicked one of the side walls. The wall swiftly disintegrated and the new planet's tectonic plates shook violently as the Kaiju finally stepped out of his box. It looked around and I let his cage fade into nothing, leaving only the square of hard rock where it had stood before.

Screw it.

"Hey, buddy!" I shouted at the top of my lungs, causing it to whirl around and let loose a spray of violet energy. "I missed you too!"

WHEW!

That was exactly what I needed.

The Kaiju pulled out all the stops.

It made me mortal. Twice.

It tried to drown me at the bottom of the oceans, then it tried to smash mountains on top of me. It threw me from one massive, mountainous hand as hard as stone to the other like a basketball.

From my spot in space, where I watched the little dot on the continent that was the Kaiju scream in frustration that I had flown out of reach.

Silently, I was laughing. Really hard.

There was no air in space.

Alright, I'm not mad anymore.

Now I'm just sad and that revelation helped bring me out of the clouds that a good fight always threw me into.

I've got a lot of work ahead of me if I want to support her through the healing process. I underestimated just how extensive it would be. But it's fine. We can work through this. She already said that she'll respect my need to be alone when it comes up. I might have to remind her at some point, but she did say it.

Take a breath.

Everything is going to be okay.

It's also going to be a ton of work, but that's what I signed on for.

With that, I teleported back to the mansion.

"Anko! I'm home!"

Anko was sitting at the dinner table in the kitchen and she jumped out of her seat, over the table and into my arms the second I made my announcement. She sighed in content, with her head on my shoulder before looking down into my eyes. "So, how was it?"

"Well, it's got a new home now," I said with a smile. "A whole new world to stomp around in and watch. I hope it, at least, likes it."

"Welcome home, Daisuke-sama," Katsuki walked up and gave a respectful bow. "Are you talking about the beast that tore up the country side back in Iron?"

"The very same," I replied with a smile and a nod. "Terrible what it did to your people, but it can't actually die so the best I could do was set it on its own world where it can't hurt anyone else again."

"It can't die," Katsuki repeated with a blink. Then she started and bowed. "Please forgive my disrespect, Daisuke-sama, I don't mean to say that I doubt you."

"Relax, you're fine," I said, waving it off. "No offense taken. Believe me, I'm used to people double-taking when I tell them something. But yes, it can't die. If you knock it close enough to death, it just becomes stronger."

I avoided doing exactly that, I didn't want it becoming immune to Taijutsu too.

"Alright, I think that's everything," I said, looking around. "Anko, are you ready to head back?"

"Yup," She smiled. "Let's go."

When we came to the vault.

"Okay, honey?" Anko said, separating and keeping her hand in mine as I shifted to an adult. "I have to apologize. For blowing up at you. Again."

"It's water under the bridge," I said with a smile. "But thank you. I'm not mad."

"Really?" Anko asked with a frown.

"Yes. Really."

Anko took let out a deep breath. "You're too good to me. And, Daisuke? About the harem…"

"Anko, I'd like to talk about that tomorrow," I said, placing my other hand over hers. "We've had a lot of drama today and I think it'd be in our best interests to relax and just enjoy each other's company."

"I just wanted to say," Anko pressed on, her frown getting deeper. "That it was wrong of me to make you promise to accept it without really understanding or accepting your feelings on it. I am so, so sorry. Please forgive me?"

"Of course," I replied, letting out a breath of relief. I actually didn't expect that. "Thank you."

"But I would still like to talk about it," Anko continued. "Tomorrow. Since we've had so much drama today and I need to finish reading the legalese for it."

"That's fine," I said with a nod. I can figure out how to explain just how unnecessary it is in the meantime. "Thank you for being patient."

"No, no," Anko shook her head, pointing directly into my chest. "Thank you for coming back."