17-year-old Koharu Yamikage was busy chopping wood outside her house, sweating as she gathered it and brought it inside. Her dad, Kei, was waiting for her in the living room.
"Beautiful, Koharu!" he congratulated. "This will last us an entire month!"
"Yay..." she groaned. "A month."
She set the firewood in the fireplace as he burned it. "What's for dinner, Dad?"
"I ran out of meat," he admitted. "Could you go to the store and pick up some for me?"
He gave her 10 bronze coins, which she scoffed at. "Seriously? You can't even get a pound with this!"
"Right, right!" he realized. "Here!"
He gave her an extra ten, making her sigh. "Ridiculous."
She threw open the door and exited her house, which was on top of a hill. She got on her bike and rode over to the big city, where traffic was heavy and people were swarming. The closest store was filled with customers.
"Now I have to wait in a long ass line of people," she complained. "Thanks, Dad."
She parked her bike and walked into the store, where sure enough, there was a long line stretching from the front to the back. She grabbed a slab of meat and tried to cut in the front, but an elderly man stopped her.
"Sorry, young lady," he announced. "You have to wait at the back."
Koharu grumbled and waited in the back. After what felt like hours, she finally got up to the counter, where a friendly young woman greeted her.
"Hi!" the cashier greeted. "Will this be all for you?"
"Yes," Koharu said, impatient.
"That will be 20 coins," the girl replied.
Koharu dumped the coins onto the counter, and the girl counted them before giving Koharu her receipt. "Here you go! Have a nice day!"
Koharu left the store without another word, putting the meat into the basket of her bike. She rode off, aiming to head back to her house, but suddenly, the skies dimmed, and people all stopped what they were doing and looked up.
"What the hell is that?" Koharu gasped.
There was a large black and purple spaceship, which descended onto the ground. As the hatch door opened, a man in black and purple armor, with a purple cape on his shoulders, stepped out, surprising everyone.
"Who...who is that?" a man questioned.
"I don't know!" a woman replied. "Is he human?"
"What human wears THAT kind of outfit?"
The man took off his helmet, revealing the face of a middle-aged, well-trimmed African American man. "Greetings, Earthlings. My brother told me you were puny, but that description didn't do you justice."
He pinched his fingers. "You are all like tiny bugs. Beautiful to crush."
A line of cop cars rolled up, and officers stepped out, pointing guns at him. One stepped forward. "Halt! Stay where you are! You have parked an illegal vehicle on public property! This cannot be tolerated!"
The man put his helmet back on. "I am faced with resistance this time. It seems with every reset, something new will occur. Good."
He snapped his fingers, and the officers immediately exploded, causing citizens to scream and run. The man stepped forward, his voice intimidating and direct. "I am Otokami. I am here to destroy your planet."
People began screaming and crying, but one brave teenage boy stepped forward. "You're lying! You think you can bully us? Think again, metalhead!"
Otokami fired a golden blast at the boy, causing him to disappear. The ground suddenly began cracking, and one by one, people began to turn into golden light and disappear. Koharu began to panic, with sweat on her face.
"I can't die!" she panicked. "I don't wanna die! Screw these people! I have to live!"
She immediately ran towards Otokami, trampling over the bodies of people who were dying. "Excuse me, sir!"
Otokami turned towards her, curious. "Hmm?"
"Please take me with you!" she pleaded. "I don't care what you do to this world, screw them! But can you please spare me? I'll do anything!"
He stared at her for a moment. "This is a first."
The elderly man from the shop grabbed her as his body began to decay. "What—what are you doing?"
She kicked him in the face. "Don't touch me, hag!"
Otokami looked her up and down. "I could use a...spouse. A wife."
Koharu nodded. "Yes! Yes! If that's what you want, that's what I'll be! Please take me to safety!"
"Very well. What is your name?"
"It's Koharu," she answered. "Koharu Yamikage."
"Well, from now on, your name shall be Koharu Otokami," he announced. "Come with me. This planet will soon be reduced to ash."
She led him lead her onto the ship as the planet began to crack. As the hatch door closed, she saw her dad running towards her, calling her name. "Koharu! Koharu, wait!"
She glanced back at him, with a scowl on her face. "Bye, Dad."
And the last thing he saw before the entire planet exploded was the ship flying through a portal, disappearing for good.
Present Day...
"Yep. That's basically how my mom met my dad over thirty years ago! Cool, right?"
"Yeah, but how'd you learn that?"
"I had to ask my dad. My mom just beats me whenever she gets the chance."
Inside a royal bedroom, a teenage boy with flawless pale white skin was sitting on his bed, while a human boy around his age was busy cleaning his floor. "You know, Yuu, you don't have to do the whole room."
Yuu paused for a moment. "I appreciate the offer, Prince Regal, but I don't like to take risks. After all, your mother wants her castle spotless."
"If you insist, I can't stop you," Regal relented. "I can tell you more stories to pass the time, if you want!"
"Sure!" Yuu agreed. "Has your mother ever tried to betray your father?"
Regal thought for a long moment. "When they first married, yeah she did. But she found out quickly that it would never work on Dad, so she dropped all ulterior motives against him. She's just as scared of him as the rest of us, ha!"
Regal sighed. "He's also the only one of us she loves. I know if she could, she'd immediately take back having any kids."
"Your mom is scary," Yuu noted. "Your dad must be even scarier."
"He is," Regal confirmed. "But Dad doesn't say or do much, so we usually have to guess what he's thinking, and make sure that we don't cross or upset him. All my sisters are obsessed with Dad, though. They want to marry him someday and become just like Mom. Though Mom won't ever allow that."
"Creepy," Yuu remarked. "But understandable. Speaking of your sisters, how many of them are there? What are they like?"
Regal sat up straight. "Alright, since you're new here, Yuu, I'll give you the rundown. This will help you to avoid dying with a heel embedded in your head."
He cleared his throat. "First, there's Remedy. She's my oldest sister. Twenty-three. She's the heir, and the closest thing Mom considers a favorite. Though she still hates her guts all the while. Just not as much as the rest of us. My sister is cold, callous, cruel, confident, but very talented. She gets everything, and you don't want to try and stand on equal footing with her. You might get frozen to death."
Yuu nodded. "Submission. Got it."
"Next is Royal. She's second in the hierarchy. Twenty. Acts just like Mom. Is her biggest supporter. She's very violent and crazy, and she enjoys suffering. She's passionate and devoted. One of Mom's favorites. She's got loyalty down, that's for sure."
He rubbed his sore face. "Sadly, that usually means she'll drive a heel into my eye."
"What's the key with her?" Yuu asked.
"You have to praise Mom. And her. Let her know how highly you think of them both."
"Okay. Who's next?"
Regal shuddered. "Ronova. Eighteen. Scary. Do not cross her by any means. She already is looking for an excuse to end humanity, don't give her one. She's killed the most people out of my siblings."
"What is she?" Yuu questioned. "Some kind of murder goddess?"
"She's something, alright," Regal stated. "She doesn't even speak when she kills me. She just stomps the life out of me until I stop breathing. The key with her is not to get too close. Act like you WANT to die. There's not a single emotion in that girl but kill, kill, kill. And her aura, it's just so scary!"
Yuu nodded. "Who's up next?"
"Rheya," Regal answered. "She's seventeen. Dealing with her should be easier if you know how to do it right. She's very...how do I put this? Unintelligent."
"She's an idiot?" Yuu gasped.
Regal gave him a thumbs-up. "The biggest. She's always forgetting stuff. Like where she's at, what she's doing, or even her own name! And she questions almost everything. Use that to your advantage. But she's very violent, and that's usually her first answer to solve problems. Which, as you know, doesn't bode well for me."
"Tough luck," Yuu sympathized. "Next?"
"Rhinedottir," he stated, shaking his head. "Sixteen. Judgmental. Self-righteous. Hypocritical. She likes to judge people for the littlest things and punish them how she sees fit. Don't give her a reason, she'll take it. She's always so serious and condescending too."
"So act right around her?" Yuu suggested.
"As best you can. Then there's her twin, Revenue," he continued. "She's a spoiled, self-centered celebrity brat who doesn't like weak people or anyone who doesn't acknowledge her as a goddess. So basically, she's got an ego problem. I've seen her murder a guy just for not knowing her name."
"Will praising her work?" Yuu inquired.
"Yeah," Regal said. "She loves to hear compliments."
"That shouldn't be too hard," Yuu remarked. "Are the rest as easy to deal with?"
"I wouldn't say that," Regal warned. "My younger sister, Ravena, she's thirteen. She's a super-genius and knowledgeable, but she's also an emo mad scientist who likes to dive into the dark and the occult. Her experiments are horrific. I can tell you firsthand, you'll either die, or you'll wish you were dead. Don't agree to do anything she asks, but make sure you act interested in her work."
"Good to know. What about the last one?"
"Radiance," he groaned. "She's by far the most annoying. She's eight, but she's got the intelligence of a 30-year-old. The way she tricks people to get what she wants, or betrays them in an instant, don't trust anything she says. Even if she acts like a little girl, that girl is a DEMON. But like with any eight-year-old, if you give her candy, that might delay your death."
"I'll keep that in mind," Yuu replied.
Regal pointed to himself. "Then there's me! Fifteen, keep to himself kinda guy, haven't killed a single person, but somehow I end up dead every other day!"
"About that, how do you even die and come back?"
"My dad's blood," Regal admitted. "My special power is resurrection. I just die and come back randomly. It might be an hour, a day, or a week. My family usually forgets about me after I die, well except my dad."
"Crazy."
Regal got up. "That should be everything. You'll rarely see my mom and dad, but if you do, just act natural around them. My dad might not say anything, but my mom will expect you to praise and worship her."
"How much does this job pay?" Yuu asked.
"I don't know if it does," Regal shrugged.
"Damn it!"
The door suddenly opened, and a girl in a gold and black judge's coat, wearing a purple dress underneath, stood behind it, holding a judge's hammer. "Time to die, brother."
"Shit! It's Rhinedottir!"
Without warning, she hit him in the face with the hammer, and once Regal hit the ground, she stabbed her heel through his eye. Afterward, she walked off like nothing happened, ignoring Yuu.
"Hey, excuse me," Yuu interrupted. "Did you just kill your own brother?"
Rhinedottir turned back, an annoyed look on her face. "What brother?"
Yuu gestured to the body on the floor. "Uh?"
She looked where he was pointing but didn't seem to notice anything. "Don't waste my time, servant. A judge has no place for games."
She casually left the room as Regal got up, fully healed. "See?"
Yuu collapsed. "Why did I take this job?"
Meanwhile...
A woman with long white hair and a tall, toned physique, wearing a purple dress and heels sat on a throne next to an armored figure, who appeared to lie dormant. A tall young adult woman with pale white skin like Regal and a similar outfit walked up to the thrones, kneeling on one knee. "Mother, Ontekku has triggered another war."
The woman looked down at her. "Pitiful. Why didn't you stop him?"
"We're waiting for your command, Mother. We don't want to attack without your leadership."
The woman stood up. "If that's the case, we will attack in full force. Remedy, gather your sisters. I'll be there soon."
Remedy nodded. "As you wish."
As Remedy left, the man on the other throne shifted slightly. "Koharu...kill them all..."
Koharu walked over to the man and planted a kiss on the side of his helmet. "I will, love. You know me too well."
She walked out of the room, a confident stride in her walk. "Mine...all mine...and anyone that gets in my way, they WILL die."
—-