A/N: Some of the legends I've taken a bit of creative liberty with, though the details have mostly remained in line with Blue Seed and correct mythology.

Chapter Seven
Truth

"Put me down!" Momiji demanded, struggling in Kusanagi's arms until he set her on her feet underneath a tree in the park where they had once had a picnic. "What's wrong with you?"

Kusanagi sat and patted the ground next to him. "You don't have to sit next to me, but you should probably sit. This is going to take a while."

Uncertain, the Kushinada looked around the silent park and sat where she stood, a foot away from Kusanagi. "Mamoru...what's going on?"

"You aren't actually the Kushinada," he said after a long moment of silence. Momiji frowned deeply and hugged her knees to her chest. "You...are something far more worthwhile. Susano-Oh married the Kushinada in the legends, and Susano-Oh took your sister. Kaede was the Kushinada, which I thought from the beginning. Susano-Oh has a brother and a sister. His sister was Amaterasu, the goddess of the sun; and his brother was Tsukuyomi, the god of the moon.

"In the legends, Susano-Oh defeated Orochi-no-Orochi and got two swords from its tail—the Ame no Murakumo and the Kusanagi. The Ame no Murakumo Susano-Oh kept for himself and he gave the Kusanagi to his sister, Amaterasu."

"The Imperial family is descended from Amaterasu," Momiji said softly.

"You're the reincarnation of Amaterasu," Kusanagi told her. "I know it sounds bizarre, and I didn't quite believe it myself...but you are. The pieces fit. Kaede had Murakumo to protect her and married Susano-Oh. Because of Susano-Oh, I came to you. You've brought light back to this world when Susano-Oh had covered it in darkness."

"What...?" Momiji asked, mystified. "How do you...why did you...why do you..."

"Murakumo," he answered.

"But Murakumo's not..."

Kusanagi shook his head. "You're right. He isn't alive, but Murakumo was the key. He stayed close to Kaede and Susano-Oh, and he and I were equal in strength when we both had eight mitamas."

"What does that have to do with Sakura?" Momiji asked at last.

"Her family...those faith healers...are descendents from Tsukuyomi. In the legends, Tsukuyomi tried to kill his sister, thinking that he was the rightful king of the heavens. So Amaterasu banished Tsukuyomi to the opposite side of the world."

"Is Sakura his reincarnation?"

"Not at all. Her family has always hated Amaterasu and they have waited centuries for her...your...return."

Worried, Momiji unconsciously edged closer to Kusanagi. "Is she going to try to kill me, Mamoru?"

He wrapped an arm around her and hugged her tightly. "I don't think so, Princess. Even if she does, I'll protect you. You...may not want to take her son from her, though. Give him to Kunikida and Takeuchi, and once she goes away you can get the kid."

Immediately, Momiji pulled away from Kusanagi. "You mean your son."

Rolling his eyes, Kusanagi said, "Don't start."

Offended, Momiji stood and glared. "You kidnap me, you drop this bomb on me about Amaterasu, and I bring up one thing—and you tell me not to start?"

Kusanagi rose, too. "You would have been pissed at me if I didn't tell you what you are and you found out that I knew all along!"

Her eyes went wide, then narrowed into thin slits. "You knew all along?"

"See? I knew you would do this," he shot back.

"How long have you known? A week? A month? A year? My whole life?" Momiji was starting to feel frantic, having issues controlling her emotions around Kusanagi.

"Why does it matter?" Kusanagi wanted to know.

"You two are pathetic," rang a clear, familiar voice from the park walkway. Silhouetted by the overhead street lamp, Momiji could barely make out Sakura's form. "Did you finally tell her, plant boy?"

Kusanagi moved to stand between Sakura and Momiji but the brunette would have nothing of it. She was angry. She didn't want anything from Kusanagi.

"Not feeling chatty, are we?" Sakura continued. She adjusted something at her hip and Momiji gasped when she realized what Sakura held.

"Put Himoru down!" Momiji cried, starting up the slope to the walkway.

Sakura held a talisman between her fingers and it began to glow. "Take one more step, Amaterasu, and you'll regret it."

Whining, Himoru reached for Momiji and Kusanagi, only to be tucked back against Sakura. "Let him go," Momiji pleaded, reaching back for him.

"He's my son," Sakura pointed out. "Mine, not yours. I would rather die than let you raise him."

"There's something wrong with you," she told the blond woman. "You wouldn't want me to raise him because it's me. There's something wrong with you! He's just a child!"

Never one to depart without the last word, Sakura spoke. "That's right. He is just a child. He's Himoru Yamazaki, son of Tsukuyomi. Pay attention, Sacrifice Girl: you will die, courtesy of me or this child."

And she was gone.

Distressed, Momiji whirled to face Kusanagi and grabbed the front of his shirt. Tears of fury and pain for the boy tracked down her cheeks. "Why didn't you do anything?"

"Let me take you back to Kunikida," Kusanagi replied, avoiding the question. "We'll talk about this more in the morning."

"No! We have to go after him, Mamoru! We have to save him. He's just a child!" Momiji repeated. He had been growing on her at the house, and she was beginning to entertain the notion of actually raising the boy as Kasahiko's brother. It seemed now, though, that that wouldn't be possible.

"Sakura won't hurt him," Kusanagi assured her, scooping her up in his arms and once again taking flight. She fell silent during the trip back to the Kunikida residence, although Kusanagi could feel her crying against him.

At last, he landed in the yard and carried Momiji into the house to find Daitetsu and Ryoko seated at the kitchen table.

"What did you do to her?" Daitetsu demanded, leaping from his chair and lunging towards the Aragami man.

"I just told her the truth. Did you know that Sakura has taken Himoru?" Kusanagi wanted to know as he dodged Daitetsu's repeated attempts to harm him.

Ryoko answered that question. "We know. We let her. We didn't really have a choice."

Finally, Momiji let Kusanagi set her on her feet and brushed herself off. "I need to go back to Izumo and make sure that she doesn't do anything to Kasahiko."

A glance at the clock showed it was well past midnight. Ryoko hugged Momiji tightly and said, "We'll get you on the first train back to Izumo in the morning."

"No," Momiji refused. "I need to go now. My car is still in Shun's garage, so I can take that back to Izumo. I was planning on just letting Shun have it, but..." she trailed off and shook her head. "I need to make sure she's okay." A long moment passed before she turned back to Kusanagi. "I wish I didn't have to do this, but would you mind taking me to Shun's house?"

"Not at all," Kusanagi answered. "I can get you all the way to Izumo if you want."

Shaking her head, Momiji declined. "I'll need my car eventually."

"I'll get dressed and get my bag packed," Daitetsu volunteered. "I'll go with you on the ride to Izumo."

"They need you here, Mr. Kunikida," Momiji told him. "I don't want to be a burden on anyone."

"I can-" Ryoko started, but paused at the expression on Momiji's face. That left one other person to make the ride with her.

Everyone looked to Kusanagi.

"What?"

()()()

"I don't know how I got roped into this," Kusanagi muttered to himself, crammed into the front seat of Momiji's old Toyota Corolla. She had purchased it for her eighteenth birthday just before Kusanagi and she had ended things. He had never had a chance to ride in it. Kasahiko's spare carseat was strapped into the backseat, and Momiji was already considering buying a booster seat for Himoru.

"You didn't have to come," Momiji told him. "I said I didn't need anyone to come with me."

"Yeah, and I wouldn't hear the end of it from Kunikida or Takeuchi if I didn't. I'm supposed to protect you, anyway." Kusanagi was having trouble making himself comfortable in the cramped front seat. The car had sat in the garage for the most part since she had married Sugishita, only used on days when he had taken his better Honda out with him and she needed to get out of the house for errands.

"Why are you complaining then?" Momiji wanted to know.

"It would be easier to just fly you to Izumo," he answered, as if that explained everything.

Momiji could already feel the beginnings of a headache forming behind her eyes. "What if I turned on the radio? Would that make you happy?"

Without replying, Kusanagi pressed the power button on the radio. The CD player blared to life, belting out some heinous children's song. "What the hell?"

Momiji punched the radio button. "That's a CD I bought for my daughter. She loves it."

He eyed her with a skepticism. "If you say so. I don't see how anyone could like that crap."

She rolled her eyes and bit the inside of her cheek to keep herself quiet. The last thing she wanted was to be in the car with this lunatic who broke up with her because he didn't love her, he loved the danger she brought. She was the source of his adrenaline high. And for a while, that had hurt, knowing that he had never actually loved her one ounce as much as she had loved him. Now she was just angry, because she had a niggling feeling that he had actually broken up with her for another reason.

Angry, she stomped on the brakes and skidded to a stop on the road.

"What are you doing?" Kusanagi demanded. "You're going to get us killed!"

Momiji stared at him for a moment, then looked around her. "We're completely alone. There's nobody on the road. And we need to talk."

Looking even more uncomfortable, Kusanagi frowned at her. "Right now?"

"Right now."

He groaned. "Why? What do you want to talk about?"

"You broke up with me because you found out that I'm Amaterasu, didn't you?"

"What?"

"That was the reason, wasn't it?"

"Why does it matter?"

"Because you lied to me, if that's the real reason. Why did you have to hurt me so badly, Kusanagi? Why couldn't you just tell me the truth?"

"Do we have to talk about this right now?"

"We need to talk about this. Did you love me?"

"Momiji..."

"Did you love me?"

"That doesn't-"

"Did you love me, Kusanagi? I need to know!"

"Of course I loved you!" he finally answered, yelling. "Dammit, Momiji. Why do you even need to ask?"

Welling up with tears, Momiji rested her head on the steering wheel. "You told me that you didn't. That you were in love with the danger I brought, and since the Aragami were defeated, there was no more danger."

He had forgotten he said that. "Don't cry, Momiji—god, don't cry."

"Why did you break up with me, Kusanagi?"

There was no getting around answering her. "I couldn't let my feelings get in the way of protecting you, Momiji. When I found out that you're Amaterasu, I knew I would have to spend the rest of my life protecting you. If I was in a relationship with you, I wouldn't be able to pay attention to you. I would always have to be watching around you. It's easier to just watch over you."

"You broke up with me for convenience?"

Kusanagi stared at her, silent.

"You broke up with me because it was easier not to care?"

It hurt to hear it put that way. "I broke up with you so I could take care of you better."

Momiji leaned over, flipped open the door lock, and released the handle. The door swung open, letting the summer breeze sweep into the car. Without looking at him again, she gripped the steering wheel and said, "Get out."

He closed the door. "No."

She leaned over again and opened the door. "Get out of my car."

He closed it again. "No."

"I don't want to see you," Momiji said, her voice breaking. She hadn't bothered to sit straight again, having intended on opening the door until he finally left her car. Instead, she had ended up lying across his lap, the seatbelt digging into her but she couldn't seem to care. The last couple of days had been so taxing on her.

He stroked her hair gently, almost uncertainly. "I know you don't, Princess."

"Then why won't you leave me alone?" she whispered.

He kissed the top of her head and wanted to tell her that it was because he loved her still. He just couldn't bring himself to say it, though. "I can't," he said, helplessly.

Momiji wanted to tell him she loved him and had never stopped, but she couldn't. "I guess we should get going back to Izumo, then."