Reflections (D11 EE)

[Moto Butaj]

He shakes his head dismissively. "When I prayed to all that is holy for Yuki and me to be together, Hotaru was there, hearing every word of my prayers. She taught me how. To Benten, to Musubi... She is a priestess, and she still did what she did, knowing full well what she would destroy. After that, I don't have much confidence in Fortunes how my fate is spun." He pauses. "Seeking goodwill was the right thing to do, like it turned out between you and me, but it still didn't change anything."

[Yogo Mizuki]

Mizuki looks to the water. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean you need prayer. The Fortunes are cruel. They rarely give a damn about us. Are they so weak that they couldn't remove the Curse from my Family? No. They just can't be bothered. And my Family must suffer and inflict cruelty for all of eternity. I meant what we see as the future can and will change. Sometimes for the better. Most of the time, for the worst."

Mizuki turns back to Butaj and shrugs. "Where we can, we must change it ourselves. We don't always succeed. But like you said, Bayushi-san changed your fate. And if she did, you can change it further. I gave you one option, but whether you take it or not, it's not over until you allow it to be. The song of Butaj and Yuki doesn't have to end here. It only ends when the musician stops playing."

Mizuki bows. "Forgive me if it sounds a little too optimistic in the face of what you endured today. I grew up knowing that I am Cursed to betray the one I love most. I cannot change that. But I have to believe that I can still affect my fate. That I am more than a puppet to the gods. And if it is true for me, then I believe it is true for everyone."

[Moto Butaj]

A small rueful smile appears as she speaks and he listens, but it turns grimly feral by the end. "You know, Mizuki-san, I think you're right. This has been my gut feeling too. I love my Yuki too much to even think of giving up. The musician won't stop playing until the throat is cut, until the hands are severed. I will see it through, and if it makes me blasphemous and despicable to the world, a worse man than I have ever wanted to be, I can live with that as long as she has my love and protection. Perhaps Butaj the Scorpion will fix what Butaj the Unicorn has failed to get done." He looks at her mask, then brings fingers to his face, tracing lines across it. "And that is actually an optimistic thought."

[Yogo Mizuki]

Mizuki gives a grim smile. "I think I was right. You will be a fine Scorpion. May the Fortunes have mercy on your enemies." And your wife. Poor thing.

Days later, Mizuki would consider how easily she threw a kinsman under the bus because she saw the potential Butaj had in her own plans. True, she did like Butaj and hoped for a friendship. But the same could be said for Hotaru. It didn't bother Mizuki how easily she betrayed another yet another person. It seemed like she could not make decision with betraying one person. She simply chose who she would betray. Maybe the reason the Fortunes didn't remove the Curse was because there was no Curse. Everyone betrays everyone. People cannot be loyal to one person without betraying another. The Yogo Family just knows when it happens.

[Moto Butaj]

"May they not thwart any of you plans, Mizuki-san." He bows from the saddle, then turns Huludai to side the bank before shooting forth toward the village in a slingshot. It was abduction time, a Moto thing. But the transformation toward a Scorpion mindset has already begun.

/exit

[Yogo Mizuki]

Mizuki gives a bow to Butaj as he leaves.

/scene