Chapter 196: Zoram’s Confession, Laban’s Self-Reflection, & Princess Rebekah’s Opinion

{Outside Sanpaku’s underwater tunnel entrance, 8:45 PM}

With the large bonfire still ablaze and most of Takamagahara(without Katsu, Saku, Shelly, Jorm, and Drakaina) sitting around the fire.

Dom and TayTay are snoring, fast asleep on the ground next to Sol.

While asleep, the large man let’s out a long yawwwwwnnn, then scratching his butt.

Sol: *yawwwnn* "I’m tired too, Big Guy."

She gets up from her own collapsible lawn chair and folds it to it’s compact form.

Sol: "Imma hit the hay."

Aiden also gets up, stretches, and then folds his own chair also.

Aiden: "Me too. I have to wake up early in the morning to search the Demon District for any standing cell towers.

Usually there is one every 25 miles or so.

Now that Roronora City is going to be destroyed, that plan to have communication across the Sozo County is put on halt."

He looks at Friend, now laying next to Itsuka.

The two pupsitters silently exchange nods, as well as the responsibility of the good boy.

Sol: "Let Dumbass know he’s a dumbass when they get back from the city.

Goodnight everyone!"

Aiden: "See you all in the morning..."

They both walk away from the fire and into the darkness of the sanctuary.

With crickets singing and the two young men snoring, everyone else is silent for the moment.

Itsuka glares through the fire, in her "10 o’clock" direction, at her rivaling general of love.

Laban notices the staring tan beauty and they EyeEngage.

Don Laban: "Got something to say?"

Itsuka: "Yea, I got a very important question, actually.

If your eye ability let’s you know everything about everyone, how did you manage to let that woman get close enough to you, without knowing that she knew you had disgracefully killed her sister?

There’s a major flaw in this whole situation."

Zoram, still timid since Laban’s arrival, fidgets in her foldable lawn chair, as if regretfully knowing the answer without the need of an explanation.

Laban DaeMon: "I was reeeally hoping anyone other than you or Skalmönd would ask me to elaborate on that...

But, you want my humble answer?

I was cocky, okay...?"

Laban nervous chuckles, takes the fitted hat off, scratches her scalp, then puts the cap on backwards over her long, jet black hair.

Laban DaeMon: "The way everything chronologically worked out, I don’t know if my thought process had made me believe I could deceive and use Isfet, or what.

All this time, I knew her real name, and that I had killed her sister the same night she earned her freedom."

Daisuki and Scylia are listening to the failed leader of a post apocalyptic sanctuary.

Laban DaeMon: "Since she was willing to kill a man for her and her family’s freedom, I figured Isfet’s tenacity and her new vision would confuse or overload her organic processor."

Daisuki: "...’New vision’?"

Zoram sniffles and Scylia turns to see her future wife, covering her mouth and nose, crying.

Itsuka and Laban disengage.

Laban DaeMon: "Hathor was her mum’s name, and Isfet was basically blind until she got that alien eye. She managed to find a knife and kill the fucktard who bought and abused her.

The Eyelien then fixed the only vision sensor she had available."

Zoram is still quietly fighting through her broken hearted tears. Both her hands leaking, muffling her sobbing.

Laban DaeMon: "I’m sorry I lied to you, Zoram.

That pregnant woman I killed was her older sister, you were right when you had asked me after we left the hospital.

She was blind before obtaining an Eyelien and their identical hair colors gave away their relation.

I thought I was outsmarting you as well.

To justify my own choices, and to bring myself inner peace, I had even to lied to myself.

I believed that everyone was too dumb to see through my lies.

I thought everyone who I was lying to was a retard, but I was the only one believing my bullshit the entire time.

...

...

God damn, I fuckin suck..."

Scylia softly rubs Zoram’s back and Itsuka looks at Laban’s hand, no more bandages, with heavy burn scars, due to her psychotic vow to Saku.

The Izanami Vice Captain looks at the ’Head Hancho’ of Sanpaku and Itsuka’s gorgeous eyes narrow in realization then she scolds back at Laban.

Itsuka: "Now you’ve been threatened with a dose of your own medicine, almost having Princess Rebekah killed from your past decisions, and with her possibly still in danger.

How are you going to make up for all the evil shit you’ve done in your toxic existence, Laban?"

Daisuki’s focus darts right towards the tall, fit woman with the same question concerning others repentance, as his unwanted enemy, Nephilim.

Daisuki(thinking): *Huh, she sounds just like...*

Zoram(quivering): "Why?"

Everyone that’s awake around the fire looks at the beautiful woman with tears now falling in their respective states of matter, while scowling her ex-wife.

She’s standing, fists clenched at her sides.

Laban is originally surprised by the sudden gumption of the Völva who was held captive against her will for almost 1,000 years.

The ex-Don loses her surprised expression quickly and leans forward with an elbow on her knee, and the two ’divorced’ women EyeEngage.

Zoram: "All I ever did, for the past 8 centuries, was help you achieve your happiness...

Every time you needed me to use Seiõr to regress your age or change your genitalia to sexually abuse me...

Every time you demanded me to accomplish a degrading task or to retrieve something that you could have easily done yourself..."

Princess Rebekah, sitting beside Laban, listens to the angry side of her Völva mother, she hadn’t known about.

The woman she remembered, even in the face of death.

The princess bites her bottom lip and grips her black leggings.

Zoram: "Everyday, for the past 800 years, I’ve wondered if us meeting each other, at the vulnerable time we were both in, was it more of a curse than a second chance at life?

What if you hadn’t been abandoned by your only sources of interaction in this world, and had killed me before they left you for dead?"

While stuck within their EyeEngagement, Laban’s eyes narrow at Zoram’s hypothetical, but stays in her "the thinker" pose, quiet.

Zoram: "Why did I have to be so curious that day and witness you getting abused and left behind by your sisters?

Why did I feel any source of pity for you, enough so, to take a step and allow you to sense me?

Why did I have to be bought by that Jormviking, and given the proper chance at life, when I should’ve been a bastard child that got buried in the desert, left to die?"

Princess Rebekah looks disgruntled by her mother’s talks about not being alive now.

Scylia(quietly): "Zor..."

The two women, who once ran Roronora City, keep their much needed EyeEngagement.

Zoram: "When you decided to keep Princess Rebekah under our care, that was when I believed, at that moment, it had finally arrived and I had finally earned the happiness the voice in the back of my head was telling me existed."

Itsuka looks over at Princess Kawaii’s first ever true friend. The single existence of this one accidentally found child, has caused a chain reaction of incidents that led to tonight’s unfortunate outcome. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Itsuka(thinking): *....’Earned happiness’?

Does the feeling of joy really have to be a reward for our pains and experiences of suffering?

I guess to some like Zoram, Princess Kawaii, and Saku, they had to go through the first milestones of life, struggling and with less luxuries than others like Shelly, Katsu, and I who had our parents and happiness taken away, after starting life with the privilege to have cherished memories.*

Laban DaeMon(chuckles): "Well damn, Zoram. One month with these guys and you finally came out your shell.

I’m not going to say I never thought you’d actually have the fortitude to finally ’nut up’ and tell me how you really feel, but I’m surprised.

Whether you believe your new surroundings are protecting you or not, what you said actually hit different than I imagined..."

Itsuka: "That’s your response?

Zoram poured her bottled up truth out to you and that’s-"

Laban DaeMon(cracking voice): "The fuck do you want from me?!?!"

Everyone can now tell Zoram’s emotional venting rant actually has affected her previously demanding captor. The waving blue eye, filled with tears and the snowflake dropping alien eye matches her quivering voice.

Laban DaeMon: "What should I do?!

Should I kill myself to repent?!

Should I live as a slave to Zoram for the rest of my existence?!

*sob*

I get it, my actions of the past, have come back around to bite my ass *sob* and Rebekah is in danger because of me!

I’m sorry, alright?!

*sob*

...

...

... I’m sorry..."

The silence settles for a moment.

Daisuki slowly gets up from his lawn chair, and Scylia watches him circumvent around the fire to Laban and Princess Rebekah.

Itsuka also watches as the man, also given ridicule from others for his guilty past actions, stops in front of the newest guests to his self established sanctuary.

He crouches in front of Princess Rebekah.

The first ever human to "take" one of the alien symbiotes, EyeEngages with the first ever human to receive a successfully "gifted" Eyelien.

The little girl is clearly intimidated but Daisuki gives her a soft, reassuring smile.

Daisuki: "Howdy lil lady, the names Mina Daisuki, but you can call me whatever you like.

Most of the little ones call me Uncle Ski."

He slowly raises his hand to shake and the cautious young lady carefully extends her own hand.

Princess Rebekah: "I-I’m R-Rebekah D-DaeMon...Nice to meet you..."

The two connect hands, disengage eyes, and Daisuki bows his head in respect.

He picks his head up and EyeEngages back with the princess.

Daisuki: "So Princess Rebekah, do you mind if I asked for your opinion on the situation?

How do you feel about your mommies?

You can tell us how you truly feel. We all want to know who they really are, from the source of their most vulnerability and the recipient of their unwavering love."

He disengages with her and the angelic post apocalyptic princess takes a moment to scan her audience. As she stops at Zoram, they EyeEngage for a moment, and the gorgeous Middle Eastern Völva releases a teary smile of both love and admiration.

Princess Rebekah: "W-Well, Mama Zoram is always the first one home and cooks the most delicious food and treats. I know how to read and write because of her, plus I get to see her transform into cute animals.

I love her, and was scared that I was going to die without seeing her beautiful face again."

Zoram’s eyes drop their respective forms of emotional matter and she sits back down with a deep sigh of regret but also relief.

Princess Rebekah moves her gaze to her DaeMon mother.

Princess Rebekah: "But Mama, is Mama."

Laban’s jaw drops.

Princess Rebekah: "Whenever I see Mama making people bigger than her scared, or bossing around crowds of people, but then be so nice and excited to see me, it makes me feel special.

It makes me feel like, if anyone threatened to hurt me, she would be able to save me."

Laban, teary eyed, looks at her permanently discoloured hand.

Laban DaeMon: "But if Saki wasn’t there tonight, then I wouldn’t-"

Daisuki: "Welp, that decides it then!"

Everyone around the fire is caught by surprise from the sudden enthusiasm being expressed by the leader of Sanpaku.

Dom wakes up with a snort, and rubs his eyes awake.

Dom(snorts): "Wh-Wha- What’s the play coach?!"

With everyone ignoring the Gunner, Daisuki finishes announcing his decision.

Daisuki: "From your response to Zorrie’s disgruntled confession and from the reference of your adorable daughter, I can tell you do have a sense of love and remorse somewhere in there, Madame Laban."

Itsuka gets up quickly, making Friend pick his head up from the resting spot on his front paws.

Itsuka: "Don’t tell me-...

Mr. Daisuki!

If the society growing from the Sister Mountains knows about her dispicable past, and that Nephilim guy already suspects us as being terrorists, adding her to Takamagahara will only damage our public image, don’t you think?!"

Laban DaeMon: "She’s right, ’Top Dawg’.

I know my Saki is willing to accept me to ensure I repent for my sins properly, but Nephi and Herfjötur can make all your bounties go up even higher because of my presence."

Daisuki and Laban EyeEngage and the ’Head Hancho’ gives the same genuine smile towards Saku’s new personal project.

He extends his hand once more.

Daisuki: "Aye, the entirety of Takamagahara, consists of a misfit gaggle, looking to prove their worth, protect what they love, and help others find their happiness in this ’Hell’ of a world.

If you’ve already pledged loyalty towards Saku, you’ve essentially also sworn your loyalty to the safety of Sanpaku."

While still EyeEngaged, Laban gives a smile back and daps up the seemingly older man, finishing the exchange with a one armed hug. While keeping the embrace, Laban whispers into the ear of her new ’Top Dawg’.

Laban DaeMon (whispers): "I’m glad to have witnessed first hand, the words of leadership, from the man who changed my Saki’s life for the better."