The Goddess who Defied Fate

Chapter 1

Huedhaut!
Shiro felt cool hands catch her. The man who caught her in mid-air furrowed his brows, conflicted.
"We're going up a little higher. Careful, don't panic and bite down on your tongue," he said. Shiro merely nodded, unable to say anything. She felt the wind against her cheeks as they quickly rose up higher into the sky. She felt Hue's arms loosen around her and instinctively clutched at him harder. "Why me? Why did you call my name back there?"
"Why?" Because he was the only one she could entrust her life to.
"It's nothing. Never mind." This was bothering him and a small part of her hated herself for it. Beneath his midnight-blue hair, his almond-shaped eyes avoided her gaze. He looked down at her hands. Shiro's fingers were digging into him so hard her knuckles were turning white. She slowly loosened her grip. "You're only human. It's natural for you to experience terror in the face of these unusual circumstances. If you're frightened... please, hold onto me." He looked away, and so did Shiro.
"Human. Do you think I'd be less frightened if I wasn't human?" Shiro's words were barely above a whisper. She dropped her hand into her lap as he carried her. "I don't need to hold onto you. Just don't drop me." A few moments later, Hue sighed and directed her hands back to his chest.
"Hmm, you should probably refrain from looking down."
Shiro hummed in response, instead looking down at his arms around her. She never imagined anything could be this painful, yet so blissful at the same time. Shiro leaned her head against his chest and closed her eyes, letting her consciousness fall.

Shiro felt her cheek being stroked. She recognised this feeling. Was it real? Or a dream? She supposed it could be either. Shiro saw his soft hair, the colour of night, swaying before her eyes. She felt relaxed; safe.

Shiro opened her eyes. "Is it morning yet?" she mumbled, more to herself.
"Sorry, it's still night-time. Want me to sleep next to you?" Ichthys asked, his voice cheerful.
"No thank you," Shiro rejected him flatly. She swung her legs over the edge of the sofa as she sat up. The room she found herself in was luxurious, to say the least. But this interior... Were they in the heavens? No, that wasn't possible. If they were exiled, that would mean they were branded with the marks of their sins. And as long as they had those marks, they couldn't return to the heavens. They were most certainly on Earth. This house was just modelled after the the heavens.
"Geeez... No fair, Ikky. If you're going to let someone sleep with you, you should definitely choose me," Teorus said.
"Stop it, both of you. You're scaring the poor girl," Dui said. Shiro looked at the floor in front of her. Her body felt like lead. And so did her mind.
Shiro staggered to her feet. She ignored them as they spoke to each other, until Scorpio directed his glare at her.
"Right now we need to focus on making this stupid woman understand the situation at hand."
"Oh, I know. Wish for something," Ichthys smiled.
"Water," Shiro said, her voice dry. Why was she going along with them? And why was a punishment god telling her to wish for something? Shiro must have missed more of the conversation than she thought. Ichthys confidently snapped his fingers. Nothing happened.
"Whoa! Why?! This can't be happening!" Ichthys exclaimed, confused. The marks of sins must have been blocking their powers.
Leon barked a laugh. "Presenting the elite Department of Punishments, they only accept gods of the highest calibre."
"Dammit, lion..." Scorpio grumbled.
"Hold on a sec, I can't use my powers, either," Teorus said.
"Don't be stupid. We just flew here. There's no way we can't use our..." A frowning Scorpio snapped his fingers. Nothing happened. "No way..."
"This... is not the best news," Dui said. Shiro wanted to leave.
"I see. So that's what happened..." Huedhaut stood apart from the rest, whispering calmly. Even though she wasn't looking at him, she knew his intelligent eyes shone quietly beneath his tuft of deep blue hair. "The marks of sin are, in all likelihood, preventing us from using our powers."
"You mean these things?" Ichthys lifted up his shirt and jacket to reveal a black tattoo on his side.
"That's a mark of sin. It signifies that we have broken the laws of the heavens," Huedhaut explained. Shiro knew what a mark of sin was. And she knew why he got one, that stupid god.
"The truth is, we've all committed different sins. We were exiled to Earth as punishment," Teorus said.
Shiro sank back down onto the sofa.
"The six of us won't be able to return to the heavens until our sins are absolved and our marks disappear," Hue said.
"Good luck with that," Shiro muttered, her voice hoarse.
"The king of the heavens said, 'A goddess holds the key to the fates of you six gods'," Teorus said.
Shiro snorted wryly. The key to their fates. How ironic. "And?" she asked.
"So, we necessarily sought out a goddess to absolve us of our sins..." Dui replied.
"And that goddess is..." Ichthys paused for dramatic effect.
"You. Probably, anyway," Scorpio said.
"I'm not a goddess. I'm a human," Shiro replied flatly.
"Maybe. But in a past life, you were one of our brethren. You are a reborn goddess," Leon said decisively.
"No, like I said, I'm human."
"Who cares what the hell you believe? Just hop to it and absolve us of our sins," Scorpio glared at me.
"I refuse," Shiro said. She stood up and crossed her arms. She looked at Scorpio past her nose. "Even if I knew how to do something like that, I wouldn't do it. You people got yourselves into this mess. Why should I have to get you out of it?"
"She's right," Hue said. Shiro turned to him, eyes wide.
"But..." Dui protested.
"It's true that she is a reborn goddess... The stars in her eyes prove it. But she no longer has the powers she possessed when she was a god. She's human now. There's no point in attacking her." Hue's thin lips twisted into a frown. "In other words, she's an encumbrance. Let's get you out of here, useless goldfish." Shiro smiled wryly. She wasn't offended. If anything, she found her situation laughable.
"You're right. If she's of no value to us, there's no reason to keep her here," Leon replied.
Scorpio clicked his tongue. "What a waste of time."
"I'll take care of her disposal, if that's alright with you all," Hue said.
"It pays to have a workaholic like you around sometimes. Dispose of her as you wish," Leon answered.
"Don't forget those words." Hue's almond eyes narrowed.

Led by Hue, Shiro dragged her feet and walked down the hallway. She was in no mood to admire the building's fabulously familiar interiors. The way he and the others spoke made it sound like death or something worse awaited her. But Shiro knew better than that. As expressionless as ever, Hue didn't even bother to look at her.
"This way." He led her to a large door, presumably the front door. Shiro didn't answer as she followed him. He chuckled. "You look like the world's about to end." Shiro gnashed her teeth and hid her eyes beneath her bangs. "There's no need to tremble like that. Stand up, look where you're going, and go home." Shiro didn't answer, instead taking a slow step towards the door. Another step. Another. "This door can connect to anywhere depending on the will of the user. Use it to return to your world." Shiro silently put her hand on the doorknob. "We'll probably never see each other again. Forget about today, and live a happy life as a human." Shiro's hand shook as she listened to his low voice, cracking ever so slightly with emotion. She gripped the knob tighter, her knuckles whitening. Shiro looked over her shoulder and tried her best to smile.
"Thank you..." Her voice cracked.
"No, thank you. I enjoyed speaking with you like this. Well then, take care."
"I... I hope you find a way back to the heavens. Goodbye, Huedhaut." After listening to his receding footsteps, Shiro closed her eyes and concentrated on where she wanted to go. But before she could turn the knob, something clamped over her mouth. Shiro gasped, grabbing onto the hand.
"Be quiet or they'll spot us."
"Hurry, that room will work."
The two of them grabbed Shiro's arms so she couldn't move and then dragged her out of the entrance hall.

"I was worried for a second there. You're stronger than you look," Ichthys told her.
"Anyway, no one noticed. We're safe," Teorus said.
Shiro glared angrily at them. "Why can't you people just leave me the hell alone?" she demanded.
Ichthys's cool fingers tilted her chin upwards. "We just want to have a little fun, that's all. I mean, we went through so much trouble to catch you, goldfish. It would be a waste to throw you back right away, you know?" Shiro clenched my fists.
"We want to play with you, that's all," Teorus smiled as he whispered in her ear. "Come on, close your eyes. If you don't you might get hurt."
I kicked his leg. "As if I'd ever be scared of a powerless god!"
"Oof! Man, you really are strong," Teorus wasn't the least bit fazed, however. No matter. That would change very soon.
"No yelling. If somebody else finds you, you'll be in danger. You don't want that, do you?" Ichthys stuck his tongue out at her. Shiro glared fiercely up at the two before she felt a refreshing, cool breeze.
"You all look like you're having an awful lot of fun." Shiro gasped at the sight of him, leaning against the doorframe as he coolly observed her.
"Hue?!" Ichthys exclaimed.
"You. I just let you go. You must love taunting death. Either that, or you like worrying gods. Either way, you're quite troublesome."
Before anyone could do anything else, a loud shot rang out in the tense room. Shiro saw red and felt a sticky, wet substance splatter on her cheek. Her eyes widened and she gasped. Ichthys lay at her feet, blood seeping into the carpet from his head. A wave of black in her peripheral and two things, pale arms wrapped themselves around Shiro's shoulder from behind.
"K-Kuro..." Teorus features were consumed by unbridled fear. He backed away.
Kuro chuckled before pointing her gun at him. "I guess it doesn't matter whether you're a god or a human. If you're born scum, you're born scum." Shiro was paralyzed, her mouth agape as she observed the scene in front of her.
"Get away from her! Run!" Hue shouted. The female god, clad in a pristine white uniform with black arm bands, wrapped her arms tighter around Shiro's shoulder as she giggled. At the clanging sound of cutlery, Shiro brought her attention to what was happening behind her. Silver caught the moonlight streaming in from the windows and Shirt gasped. No sooner had another shot rang out in the otherwise silent dining room than Shiro moved.
"Watch out!" Shiro wrapped her hands protectively around the goddess's head and pushed them both to the ground. The two women rolled some feet away, Shiro keeping her arms around Kuro.
"Oi, what are you doing? Something like that won't hurt me." Kuro poked Shiro lightly in the arm, her gaze on the knife that Hue had just thrown at her back.
"Whether it hurts you or not is irrelevant. You're precious to me, so I'll protect you."
"Shiro..." A genuine, happy smile spread across Kuro's face. "Thank you." Shiro was aware of Hue's keen eyes on them as she shook her head.
"You saved me. Thanks, Kuro." Shiro smiled weakly. "I'm really glad. I wanted to see you."
"Mm. I know. Your heart was crying. I always know," Kuro said. Shiro's eyes widened.
"Kuro... Please, forgive Huedhaut. He was trying to protect me."
Kuro smiled. "I know. He told you to run. Don't worry, I won't hurt him." Kuro stood up, Shiro's hand in hers. Shiro, however, remained on the floor, her arm limp. "Shiro?"
"I'm fine. Just a little tired," Shiro answered, her voice containing a weariness not often heard from her.
"I see." Kuro crouched down in front of her. "It's okay now, Shiro. Sleep. I'll make sure to end this nightmare by the time you wake up."
"Mm. Thank you." Shiro heard the sound of fingers snapping by her ear before her consciousness eluded her.