Chapter Text
Junko awoke to the peck of a bird on her face. This shouldn’t have been possible for several reasons. The most important being that she should be in Hell. So, waking up in a field surrounded by plants was not expected, let alone a world that she felt something missing.
No sense of the Lunarians. Not a hint of their presence watching over her. Not the smallest trace of their spirits and her mortal enemy. Chang’e. The lack of presence for the Sagacious Spirit was disturbing. But she still held her main goal, revenge.
She looked around, her power still being near its peak since her attempted siege on the Lunar capital. Her orange hair was moving in the breeze, if she wasn’t prioritizing revenge and Hecatia above all else she might have enjoyed this.
“Heyyyy!” someone shouted, momentarily getting the enemy of the moon’s attention. So, she turned to look at the person. A woman who couldn’t have been older than thirty with ash blonde hair. “Are you okay?”
“I am,” Junko said, noting that this woman who seemed concerned was staying a considerable distance from her. “You are wise to not approach me, despite your concern.” Her rage was rising from not knowing where she was, so the purple flames tied to her vengeance started to flare. She wouldn’t hurt this woman; she clearly had no attachment to her enemy.
“Wow!” she said, carefully stepping back to match Junko’s movements. “Is that your magic?” she didn’t seem alarmed, in fact she seemed interested.
“That is an appropriate approximation,” Junko said, the comment not technically a falsehood. Her grudge could be viewed as magic, albeit an incredibly simple and lethal one. “If you tell me why you are keeping such a specific distance from me, you won’t have to see it much longer.”
“Oh! That!” the woman said with a sheepish smile. “I’m cursed and suck the life out of anything I get too close too. Simple as that really.”
“Simple is better.” Junko sighed, feeling any animosity towards this woman fade away. She couldn’t be associated with her enemies; their uptight and abusive version of purity wouldn’t allow someone with that ability to exist. “It’s pure that way.”
“Well, that’s not the normal reaction I get from people.” The other woman laughed. “Normally they just run or chase me away!”
“An understandable reaction.” Junko mused, using the woman’s laughter to close the distance between them. “A meager curse cannot affect me, however.” She continued, putting a razor-sharp nail on the woman’s cheek. “Now then. Tell me where I am. Since you seem to not know how I came here.”
There was silence as the woman looked at Junko, eyes filled with terror. Not of her, but of herself.
“You… you can’t be this close! You’ll die!” she said, trying to push away.
“Was I mortal, did you not hear me? A meager curse cannot affect me,” the sagacious spirit sighed. “I will not ask again. Tell me where I am.”
“T-the Clover Kingdom.” The woman said, trying to collect herself. “I-in the forsaken realm. Sorry I’m not used to people other than one of- my son, being able to get close to me.”
“I see.” Junko said, pulling her hands away from the woman. Letting her right-hand cup her chin and the other hold her elbow. “A place I know nothing of… damn you Chang’e!”
There was a beat as the ashen haired woman stepped away. Not to run, but to get to a more comfortable distance. She had to get back to her son soon, mostly because he’d start to worry. The beat continued as Junko realized something.
“You almost said sons…” she said, the unfamiliar expression of melancholy and sympathy replacing her thin smile. Her purity let her see if someone had made a mistake or acted imperfectly, and that tidbit of information told her something had happened. “My apologies for forcing you to discuss such a topic. You are free to go, I will make do on my own, thank you.”
“What? No, it’s okay!” the ashen haired woman said, confused by the sudden change in the air. “Besides, it’s going to storm tonight. It’ll be cramped but if you need to sleep somewhere I can make room.”
“You make no sense…” Junko sighed, feeling like she was talking to Hecatia rather than a stranger. “Your name. Tell me what it is?”
“Licita!” the woman beamed, any tension in her body disappearing as she started to walk away. “And yours?”
“Junko.” The spirit said, not feeling a need to give a full title to someone who was possibly in the same situation as her.”
They walked, mostly in silence as Licita’s prediction came true. Storm clouds forced their way between the heavens and earth as the smell of rain hit the pair.
“Mo- Licita?” a small voice said as a small hut came into view. Junko looked down and saw a small head of white hair with a noticeable pair of pitch-black horns sticking out of it. It was a small imp, or devil, frankly the distinction made little difference to the spirit. “Who… is that?”
He was on guard, bandages and bruises visible on his face and body. The spirit looked between the human and devil and knew that she wasn’t the source of the Child’s injuries.
“This is Junko!” Licita said with a refreshing bluntness. “She kind of just appeared as I was coming home. Now let’s get you inside before the rain really starts!” neither the sagacious spirit nor devil moved. Junko allowing him to assess her as she got a better look at the child.
He was no older than six, maybe seven. At least by human standards. His eyes darted between the human who had said he was her son and the woman who had arrived with her.
It was painful to look at him for Junko. Memories bubbled up as she felt her rage start to grow.
“Child, your mother did not say someone had hurt you.” She spoke. A protective instinct suppressing her rage for the moment. “Is she taking good care of you?”
“I don’t trust nonhumans!” he blurted out as Licita stopped next to him. The child moving between his mother and Junko. “Are you a devil too? I won’t let you hurt any humans!”
“Liebe? What are you talking about?” Licita said, genuinely confused at the declaration.
Junko laughed in response, allowing her flaming tails to reappear.
“Child, you are quite gifted!” she cackled, the entire farce of a situation pushing her emotions to a breaking point. “Use that perception well! It is simply perfect!”
“Junko? Wait what’s going on?” Licita said, Liebe refusing to move from between the two women. “Liebe, what do you mean she’s not human?”
“She doesn’t smell human!”
“That.” Junko laughed, looking at the pair with a maddened glint in her eyes. “Is correct!” the crash of thunder highlighted her declaration. “Then child, let me reward your intuition!”
She fired a bullet towards the sky, it lasts a moment before a ring of red light exploded outwards and cleared the sky.
“Children should not stay out in the rain. Let alone with a sagacious spirit in tow.” She said, still laughing as she felt her emotions regulating. “Go inside, I shall not harm either of you.”
“I don’t believe you!” Liebe blurted out, ignoring Licita’s attempts to diffuse the situation as he was still staying firmly between the pair. “I won’t let you hurt my mom!”
There was a moment of silence as Licita stopped moving and looked at the devil.
Wordlessly she hugged him as Junko’s tails dispersed into the air.
“Paranoia will serve you well, child.” Junko laughed; any hint of malice gone from yelling with a child. “You have a promise on my very being. I will not harm you or your mother. If you are smart you will believe me, if you are wise, you will not.”
“I don’t get it but stop arguing both of you!” Licita sighed. Pulling on Junko’s ear now that she had gotten close to both. It didn’t do anything, but the spirit admired the hutzpah on the woman. “Liebe, she isn’t hurt by my curse, so she can stay. Junko, please don’t argue with my son.”
“Okay…” Liebe grumbled, giving Junko a glare. “But my tummy says it’s a bad idea…”
“I swear it.” Junko replied, her emotions returning to a manageable level. “But. You have a bad feeling?” that had gotten both woman’s attention. “Describe it. As I bear no malice to either of you.”
“Something bad is going to happen, I can feel it.” The devil grumbled, taking his moms hand and moving towards the run-down house. “Somethings been watching me…”
“That… let’s hope that’s your imagination Liebe.” Licita said, looking between Junko and her son.
The spirit however could’ve sworn she saw the devils shadow glare at her.
The night was uneventful, as Junko simply slept in the corner. Or rather, tried too.
“Hecatia…” she mumbled, noting Liebe’s ear twitching as he faked sleeping like children always would. “Clownpiece… wait for me to return.”
She watched as Liebe’s feet hit the floor and he walked over to her with a small blanket. His red eyes were still visible in the faint moonlight.
“Are they your family?” he asked quietly, his tail flicking back and forth.
“In a way, child.” She responded, giving him a small smile. “In a way that is not meant for someone as young as you.” There was a beat as he looked at her, his tail twitching faster. “…Liebe, you said you have a bad feeling.” It wasn’t a question, simply asserting what the devil had said.
“Yeah… something in my gut says something bad’s going to happen.” He whispered back, that same feeling now coming to the sagacious spirit.
“…leave this boy, now.” She said, leaning over and glaring at the floor. There was a beat as Liebe looked between her and the floor. “I will destroy you if you do not.”
“Is someone there?” Liebe said, his ears twitching as he looked at the same spot. There was another beat of silence as his hair visibly stood on end. “Go Away!”
Licita woke up at that, after all her child screaming out of nowhere would get any parent’s attention. Especially with Liebe grabbing a pan and swatting at the floor.
“Wha happun?” she mumbled, stepping out of bed as Junko grabbed the pan from Liebe.
“An intruder.” She said, getting a confused look from the human. “He’s gone now.”
There was silence as Liebe quickly gave Junko a hug and ran back to his mother. There was a moment of checking in before they both went back to sleep.
‘You would do well not to anger me,’ something spoke to Junko’s mind. An empty threat to the spirit. ‘Or I will ensure you die painfully.’
‘An ant cannot kill a giant’ Junko thought back, not caring for tact. The anger was growing with every moment, which she would relish to release. ‘Leave the child alone.’