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Did Hakuno really need the Moon Cell? Did she need the stress of having all of those awful Servants of hers? Did she actually need to join Chaldea?
No, not really, Ishtar had thought when she had zip-zapped into Dubai and snatched up the woman for herself.
Ereshkigal had that one girly as a daughter whom she was spoiling. Rin or whatever. Of course, she needed a daughter for herself. And naturally, Hakuno was so very cute as a fifteen-year-old. Just like Ishtar thought she would be.
She didn't need adulthood. She was fine being her little teenage daughter. Teenagers were easier to deal with. That point was way past the changing of diapers, hand feeding them, all that shit. Hakuno could pretty much take care of herself as a teenager, which was great for both of them, especially her.
She was a busy goddess, after all. She couldn't be like Ereshkigal and actually babysit someone.
Plus, she could dress Hakuno up and dote on her! It'd be so cute. If only Hakuno would stop asking her about whatever past memories she had. Once she was done with the Chaldeans, she would have to perhaps reset Hakuno's memories again. There were potions that would work well for that.
"And how long will you be gone with these Chal-De-Ans, Ummum?"
Oh, but she was so cute calling her mother! Ishtar leaned in, peppering affections to Hakuno's face. She had made the right choice here, stealing Hakuno away. But then she was always correct.
"Only for a couple of weeks. Ummum will be back for her festival, and you can help me when I return!"
Hakuno would be good to have around for that. Her mana felt nice, and Hakuno liked to listen to her stories. She was too sweet, but that was fine. The girl was hers.
Hakuno nodded, practically drowning in her mother's affections. Her mom worked a lot. It'd be nice to have her relaxing and having fun during her festival in a few weeks.
"When you get back, can we have more butter cake? When you brought it around last time, it was so good!"
Ishtar made a show of humming, brushing Hakuno's hair back. Really, no one could get upset at her for stealing the girl away. Hakuno was so much healthier here in Uruk anyway. There were many fewer stressors here in her temple. Gudako wasn't around to piss Hakuno off. She didn't need Chaldea.
Hakuno just needed her.
"Perhaps. You know that it is hard to find, Haku."
More like it was hard to steal from the king here. Gilgamesh practically had a monopoly on the stupid sweet. It had been such a pain in the ass to get it last time!
Hakuno was being such a good girl about it, saying that she understood and that she could take her time getting the sweet treat for them.
Was Ereshkigal's girl as sweet as Hakuno? No, she didn't think so. Ereshkigal wished her runt was as good as her daughter. Hakuno would grow up to be a good priestess for her. Perhaps a good lover eventually, too. After all, it was quite easy to influence her memories.
Ishtar grinned, rubbing her nose to Hakuno's before she pulled back.
"I need to be heading off soon. Remember: no going outside. It's not safe, Haku."
She knew this, Hakuno thought to herself. She knew how this worked and the rules. Ishtar had all but drilled this into her brain.
But she couldn't help it. She wanted to see the outside world. The temple was nice, she supposed. But she was honestly a bit tired of sitting inside all day. Her mother could leave and explore. Why couldn't she?
"I know. I'm not supposed to leave the temple. I can stay inside and read my books, though, and explore the temple if I want to."
Hakuno was so good! She really listened so well to her, Ishtar thought. The goddess practically beamed as she patted Hakuno's head.
"You can! Remember, men are evil, Arammu. You don't want to deal with them. They talk and whine so much, and most of them have an ugly third appendage."
Right. Hakuno raised a brow, even as she nodded. She was assuming a lot. She wouldn't really go for a guy unless they were like how the men were in her romance novels. Obsessive, romantic, good-looking.
And even then, that would require a man to actually be interested in her. She wasn't as pretty, not like her mother anyway. Ishtar was overestimating her in that department.
"I promise that I'll be good and won't leave the temple. I have a few books to keep me busy while you're gone, Ummum."
Such a good girl. Ishtar leaned in, stealing a kiss from Hakuno, grinning as she pulled back.
"I must be going. When I get back, I'll be free to spend time with you! That means we can do more self-care!"
Ishtar sounded so happy about that. Hakuno watched the goddess all but sprint out of the temple. It wasn't like the priests were going to be around that much. Maybe to bring her meals and make sure that she was okay, but that was it.
She had promised that she would be good, and she would be. She wouldn't leave the temple grounds, but she wanted to feel the sunlight on her skin. Hakuno waited for what felt like forever, making sure that Ishtar was well and gone before she picked up her latest book, and slowly made her way outside to the temple steps to sit and read.
Hakuno wasn't sure how long she had been outside when she heard footsteps. She glanced up, thinking it was one of the priests coming to get after her for being outside. However, she hadn't been expected to see a man before her.
She took in his appearance, violet tattoos on his shoulders, golden blond hair that seemed to all but gleam underneath Uruk's sunlight, red eyes that reminded her of the paints Ishtar sometimes brought back to her. And he was tall. She probably would barely come up to his chest if she were to stand to greet him.
Probably should anyway, but she was in the middle of a chapter, and this guy was probably a worshiper. He was no doubt looking for his goddess to sleep with him.
But he had something in his hands, Hakuno noticed. Sweets? She was more curious now than before. It was because of the obvious sweets he was bringing to the temple that she didn't return her attention to her novel.
Not because the man was handsome or anything. Nope.
Fuck, but she was going to have to speak the language here, wasn't she? Ishtar had been trying to teach her Sumerian, but it was such a slow-going process with her…
"Inanna gone." Hakuno tried before the man could even open his mouth to speak as she met the blond's gaze. "She no here."
Gilgamesh raised a brow, looking over the young woman before him. She couldn't be more than what? Fourteen? Fifteen? Marrying age for sure, but Ishtar did not keep young women like this around her temple.
And what's more, she sucked at speaking Sumerian. Clearly not native, as if the girl's eye shape wasn't enough to tell him that.
"Inanna is gone, but your king is here," Gilgamesh replied, moving to truly stand before the girl. He recognized those robes the brunette had on.
Ishtar had stolen them from his home. He had been wondering the reason why the goddess had been slipping into the palace the past few weeks, steadily stealing things. Clothes, sweets, and jewelry, to name a few.
He had simply chalked it up to the woman being a nuisance like always, but while that was the case, it seemed Ishtar was hiding something here. A whole girl.
Why? What value did this rather plain-looking girl have to her? This brunette had been in Ishtar's temple for weeks, if Ishtar's string of thefts were anything to go by. Even Ishtar's husband did not get to enjoy temple life for more than a few days at a time.
"What is your name, woman?"
Hakuno blinked, only catching a few words as the man continued to speak. This was bad. She had no idea what the fuck this guy was saying at all. She winced, trying to think. Ishtar could obviously speak the language that she spoke normally. Although she had no clue what that was.
But perhaps blondie here could too? Hakuno couldn't take her eyes off the man as he moved to sit next to her, unwrapping what he had in his hands.
It wasn't butter cake, but it still looked sweet. Hakuno swallowed before she spoke.
"My Ummum is gone. If you're looking to get fucked, then you'll need to come back in a few weeks. Maybe during her festival? She'll probably suck you off then or whatever it is you want done."
Gilgamesh blinked once. Twice. She spoke the language of the Chaldeans? He found himself more intrigued than he was before. Ishtar had stolen someone from Chaldea? A girl at that?
And she was having the girl call her mother? Oh, but that was funny. Hilarious even. Ishtar had not one maternal instinct in her body or soul.
The laughter began before he could even think to stop it. The sound echoed, leaving the couple of guards he brought along with him to jump at the sudden noise.
"I am not here for any of that," Gilgamesh replied, ignoring the unamused look on the woman's face. "Here, you may indulge in the mersu I have brought along with me. What is your name?"
This guy was so strange. Handsome, but very strange. However, the cookies he had brought looked good. Mersu, they were called? Hakuno reached out and took one, immediately biting into it and humming softly at the sweet taste.
"Hakuno," she told him once she swallowed her bite. "My name is Hakuno. What is your name, Ruby Eyes?"
She was definitely one of the Chaldeans with a foreign name like that. Gilgamesh raised a brow at the girl as she ate before he leaned in.
"You do not know of me? You have not heard of the warrior who defeated Humbaba and his greatest and only friend?"
Was she supposed to know who he was? Hakuno blinked up at him, trying to place him and coming up painfully blank. Ishtar never mentioned anyone like him at all to her.
"I'm afraid not, I'm sorry. My ummum doesn't let me leave the temple. She doesn't talk about life outside of the temple to me all that much."
"And why is that? Ishtar comes and goes whenever she pleases, does she not?"
She needed out of this place. Ishtar was hoarding her like a treasure, which meant Hakuno was more valuable than she appeared. The girl needed to be around a woman who actually had some brain cells. Siduri would be able to help Hakuno.
"She's just trying to protect me. She says men are bad and dangerous."
This girl was surely trying to kill him. At those words, Gilgamesh's laughter returned tenfold, leaving his guards to sigh softly as they waited out his amusement.
"You are showing zero remorse for your lack of insight. You need to be around real people. Tell me, are you always called Ha-Ku-No here?"
She really wasn't sure what was so amusing here. Hakuno resisted the urge to roll her eyes as she shook her head.
"No, the priests call me Nanna."
Gilgamesh scoffed as his amusement eased, rolling his eyes at such a thing. His attention returned to the woman, taking in her awfully plain appearance. Those defiant brown eyes of hers reminded him both of honey and gold.
He had room in his palace. The girl was coming with him.
"That is not as much of a compliment as you think it is. As your king, I order you to get whatever the goddess has given you and accompany me back to my home. You have no choice. You're ordered, Haku Nanna."
Haku Nanna? Hakuno stared up at him. He was serious, she realized. This man wanted her to go with him? To his home?
She shouldn't. She really shouldn't. She had promised Ishtar that she'd be good, but this could be her only chance to see the outside world.
Perhaps she could just stay for a couple of days and return to the temple without anyone knowing? With that thought in mind, Hakuno nodded, her book all but falling off her lap as she stood.
"I'll be right back, Blondie!"
Blondie? This woman was horrible at nicknames. Gilgamesh watched her scurry off before his eyes fell to the book she dropped. He raised a brow at the half-naked man on the cover as he picked it up, beginning to look through it.
The girl liked this kind of thing? She wanted a man to treat her like the men in this novel treated their women? He could do without the twin plotline. He didn't need Archer around, but there were other things he could work with as he skimmed the first chapter.
A princess coming back to her homeland would be amusing. If Hakuno secretly wanted to be treated like a princess, then he could oblige.
It wasn't like Hakuno needed to go back to the Chaldeans. She definitely did not need Ishtar around her. Gilgamesh glanced at one of his guards, a grin coming to his features as he gave his orders.
"Run along ahead and inform Siduri that Ur has sent a princess to our homeland. She will need a room befitting of her position."
Meanwhile, he was going to leave the last remnants of the sweets in Ishtar's temple. Just so she knew exactly who had stolen from her.
Hakuno would be coming home with him back to his ziggurat.
Ishtar didn't need anything as nice as Hakuno anyway.