Difference between revisions of "He Saves Gods as a Man"

Revision as of 07:48, 26 February 2022

Introduction

It's been two months since I had become Sakura's caretaker.

"Uncle Aaron! Look at what I found!"

Sakura ran up to me with a seashell in her hand.

"So pretty!"

I knelt down in front of her and took the shell.

"Whoa, nice find! I found one myself too, actually."

Sakura bounced up and down on the sand.

"Can I see? I want to see!"

I fished out a beautiful purple glowing shell which made rainbow colors in the sunlight. Sakura's eyes shone, as she leaned in to see.

"Wooooow! It's so pretty..."

Sakura then looked back at her seashell, and made a disappointed look, as if she realized I had just one upped her.

"Do you want it?" I asked.

Sakura gave me puppy dog eyes, as I chuckled, placing the seashell in her hands.

"But I didn't give you anything in return."

"Nope. You don't have to."

"Is this an offering? I thought you said demanding offerings is selfish."

I shook my head.

"Nope. This is different. This is what we mortals call a gift. To give something precious from one person to another without expecting anything in return. This is something we do for people we care about and want to see happy."

I put a hand on Sakura's head.

"I wanna see you happy."

Sakura's face bubbled.

"I see! Then... then..."

The reincarnated child goddess threw her arms around my waist.

"I want to see you happy too, Uncle Aaron!"

I smiled, as Sakura pulled away.

"I want to play in the water!"

"Saki-chan! Don't run too far away from us!" Tokiko said, as she took her hand.

I sighed, leaning back, and created a hand sign.

Constructum: Gunsmith's Table

A small bench opened up before me, as pieces of equipment appeared on the surface.

"Working hard, I see." Absalom rumbled, as he sat next to me on the sand.

"Well. This next mission Master Jun has assigned me is going to be a huge handful. He himself told me to get ready. Hence why I went back to the Sanctum to learn the Constructum spell."

Absalom watched as Tokiko and Sakura played in the water, splashing at each other and laughing.

"What is Avara to you, Aaron?"

I scratched my head.

"I'm kind of her caretaker. But I guess... seeing her as a daughter feels weird. Considering I'm eighteen. But, I'm the one responsible for raising her right. So maybe a big brother? Why do you ask?"

Absalom sipped from his beer.

"Because Sakura has left an impact on you. You've become mellowed out."

"Don't say that. You're gonna make me feel old."

"It isn't a bad thing. I like this version of you more."

"Why, is it because I grief you less nowadays when I'm busy taking care of Saki?"

"No. It just seems that since caring for her, a more genuine side of you has emerged. The personality you had before seemed rather... forced."

"What do you mean?"

"It seems to me, that the personality you had before seemed... grafted. With a hint of guilt. Anyway, it isn't my right to say. I am an Auxiliary and you are an Outer. Oh, Tokiko is calling out to me, it was a nice chat, Aaron."

Absalom waved at me, as he met up with his daughter.

I stared at the pieces of equipment on the table. I picked up a stock and opened it up, tweaking with the internals.

My personality...

Was the effect of the influence Jessie Lane had on me. A troublemaker.

But did Absalom have a point? Maybe the way I was acting, was it more out of guilt? Was the Aaron Hope before just a front?

I looked out at the horizon.

When Sakura wanted to go out, I had taken her to the beach. Jessie always liked going to the beach.

I couldn't tell if this was out of the fact that I had never gotten over her death, but yes. It seemed almost like Jessie's personality had been forced upon my old self.

Who was I really?

I put together my new weapon, which took up the entire Gunsmith bench. A homing missile launcher, with the mechanism provided by Master Jun, and the concept coming from my wild imagination.

I called it the Apex Launcher. I had a missile launcher configuration equipped on my Ironsight Sniper, but that was mostly a quick swap utility in case I didn't have the time to summon anything else through my Convocatio spell. But the Ironsight Missile Configuration had limits, made obvious when I fought Bishamonten. Just redirecting it off course was enough to destroy the surroundings.

And when damage is put out on the surroundings, that meant inefficiency.

Enemies adapt. They change. And if you can't keep up, you'll be left in the dust.

But that's the thing about technology. Technology has the potential to keep up with a changing world. Because the crux of tech is to be able to adapt and evolve.

Two months may not have been a lot of time, but my arsenal had changed quite a bit since my battle against the Inner Shadow.

That battle I had against Bishamonten, when I returned to the barracks, a lot of the Auxiliary Shadows and even the Outer Shadows of Jun congratulated me, but I honestly just didn't feel like accepting anything.

Will and Nora.

They were killed by a goddess who was raised under his influence.

It was all his fault that my two most precious friends in the world were slaughtered so gruesomely.

And I knew the right thing would be to raise this reincarnated Avara so she wouldn't grow up to be that same wretched goddess who had ruined and changed my life that day.

But to know that I would still be serving Bishamonten, posthumous, would forever haunt me.

Even if this was something that was right...

Bisha had the last laugh, getting me to take on his burden like this.

Tokiko and the others waved me goodbye, as Absalom hopped into his family van.

"You..." My voice trailed away, as I stared at the Oni Emperor, who waved at me like he was a happy family dad.

It was hard to believe that this pudgy man in the loud Hawaiian shirt had a true form resembling a demonic giant.

"Come, Aaron. I'll give you a lift."

"Ah. Nah. No thanks." I muttered.

Sakura gripped my sleeve, as the two of us walked down the path. The cherry blossoms, which I named after her, were blooming.

"Eep!" Sakura yelped, as she stumbled on a rock. I caught her before she could fall face first onto the cement and cry like last time.

Nobody wanted to deal with that again.

"Whoa there. Are you hurt, Saki?"

Sakura glared at the rock.

"Insolent pebble! You dare stand in the way of-"

Sakura stopped herself, glancing at me.

"Sorry." She made a moping face, as I sighed, kneeling in front of her.

"Saki. Remember what we talked about."

"Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah. A good goddess is a humble one. But that rock almost made me fall! If this sidewalk was perfectly smooth I wouldn't have to-"

"Sakura Hope." I said, sternly, as Sakura's face suddenly went rigid.

"Sorry! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to... I..."

Sakura looked down in shame, as tears ran down her face.

"I'm trying really, as best as I can... Uncle Aaron. I'm trying my best. I really am. But Lord Bisha... Who I am... It's hard."

I pulled out a tissue from the pocket of my hoodie and patted her cheeks.

"I know."

Saki was wiped her eyes with her sleeve, as I looked down at the rock on the ground, picking it up.

The thing was so jagged.

Honestly, probably one of the most asymmetric pieces of rock I had ever seen.

Then I turned back to Saki, who was still sniffling.

She may have been a kid.

But she was still a goddess.

A reincarnation of the Goddess Avara, the Goddess of Fertility.

In all of her past incarnations, they were apparently the same, according to mythological folklore.

The Fertility Goddess who only strove for the best in a woman's ability to conceive, and a man's ability to mate.

And a child's ability to follow their parent's instruction, to one day do the same.

Yes.

Absolute incel like creepy 5Chan shit.

But the underlying philosophy behind Avara's thinking, was what drove her to seek such ideals.

Perfection.

Tradition.

And if there were outcasts and outliers in the world she existed in, she couldn't tolerate it.

Meaning she couldn't tolerate the orphans.

She couldn't tolerate those who were not of the old style, or the old ways.

She couldn't tolerate men or women who chose not to marry, and she couldn't tolerate those who didn't live their life through the guidance of another.

I had done my best to make sure Saki wouldn't walk in her predecessor's footsteps, but no matter how much I tried to drill in her head that to look at the world's imperfections in a negative light were bad...

Saki began smoothing out the folds on her little dress, making sure not a single fleck of dust was on it.

It was in her godly nature to reject impurities in this world.

"Uncle Aaron... are you angry at me..." Saki whimpered, clutching her hands like she had just been caught red handed stealing cookies from the Outer Shadow pantry again.

I turned to the sea side and chucked the rock, as it skipped.

"No. This was just a stern reminder, is all."

I patted Saki's head.

"You're doing a good job. Keep it up."

Saki smiled, as she took my hand. We continued walking. The wind causing her dress and my coat to ruffle.

I looked at Saki again.

As much as I hated all of her past incarnations, there was no denying it. Maybe during the first few weeks, when I considered just driving her to child services and running away (hey, don't blame me, my past with Avara is a good enough excuse)... but now...

All those times I would wake up early (which never happened before), just to cook her breakfast.

And all the times I would have to blow-dry her hair after she had finished taking a bath.

To all the times where I would teach her schoolwork since sending her to a public and private school would be too risky.

Taking her out on walks and trips such as this one.

Learning to cook dishes so I could see her happy and full.

And tucking her in bed every night.

I guess she had really grown on me. To the point where I no longer cared about her forcing my surname on hers, and calling herself Sakura Hope. Which I obviously was against at first.

Now, it's become so much of a norm that I had accepted it.

Both her name and my role as her caretaker.

Of course, I say that now...

But there were still parts of her that I found insufferable.

"I want another hot chocolate offering!"

"Absolutely not."

"Why not?!" Saki whined.

"You had one this morning. Too much sugar is bad for you!"

"I'm a goddess. I don't get sick!"

"Oh yeah? Then explain to me how you immediately came back home sneezing and coughing after running outside in your nightgown."

Saki pouted.

"I want an offering. I may be different from my predecessor, but I still am entitled to offerings from mortals! And I want one now! PLEEEASSEEE!"

I grumbled under my breath, as I made my way to the nearest coffee shop. Saki skipped along.

"Yay! Uncle Aaron is giving me an offering!"

I went up to the cashier, who regarded me with dead expressionless eyes but the most forced, artificial smile ever. An obvious victim to capitalism gone wrong.

I feel you, bud. At least you had the honour to be part of an offering to the goddess.

Sakura Hope. The world's first divine cookie enthusiast.

"Decaf regular... uh..."

I narrowed my eyes.

Cookie Crushed Cream?

Moose Flavoured Cookies?

That didn't sound right.

And didn't she mention something about truffle?

Dammit. If only Sigurd was here. Unfortunately, I had spent my loyalty points on enrolling her to University so she could live out life as a college girl, and experience the University life. It was my gift to her after everything she had done. Now, she was too busy studying and acing Computer Science (which I found funny, because... well she was a robot, LOL) to join in on my trips outside of missions.

If I asked Saki what the order was again, while the two of us were in front of the cashier, she would be embarrassed. And cry.

And that was the last thing I needed.

"Buck, what the hell was Saki's order again?" I whispered, fiercely into my earring.

Buck's robotic voice resonated in my mind.

Mocha Cookie Crumble Creme Frappuccino. With truffle flakes.

"Thank god, you're a lifesaver, dude."

My existence is to serve, Master Hope. Even if my calling has reduced to remembering Lady Sakura's orders.

"You didn't have to say it like that...." I grumbled, as I repeated the order to the cashier, and handed to Saki.

"Your offering, my Lady." I said, playfully, as Saki took the cup with her tiny hands and sipped on the drink.

"Yummy! Thank you Uncle Aaron!"

I smiled.

So she's finally developed a habit of thanking people.

I was proud of her.