Inu Island

Considerable time had passed since Hattori's return to Ashen, and though he was glad to reclaim his mind as his own he felt... dissatisfied, misplaced. Like a part of him wasn't sure he should have returned at all. Serving Venom had been-was- an honour, his time here was well spent. But it no longer felt enough, like standing in her shadow was a disservice to the Hattori name, like he could be more. Should be more. And that frustrated him, because why now? What had his sickness shaken loose in his mind? Was he a different man now without even knowing it? Even during quiet moments where he stared out at the expansive ocean, watching the waves toss back and forth, it was hard to say. A question he simply couldn't find the answer to.

Old vs new. Us vs them. Hattori found himself latching onto the old ways of his people, finding fault in everything that wasn't of his own culture. He had come to Boreas in an attempt to escape his past, to make something new of himself, and yet it crept up on him all the same. And instead of turning a blind eye as he once would have he felt no such urge anymore.

He and Venom needed to talk, even if she did not like what he had to say he hoped she would listen. Tipping his head back, he called for his wife. Perhaps this conversation had been a long time coming, a storm looming on the horizon as it churned up the waves.

"speech"

Venom thought that life would return to normal once the sun returned and her husband was back at her side, but it hadn’t. Nothing was the same anymore, or rather everything remained as it was, but the lines didn’t quite line up. The world’s parallels were slightly askew. And Venom felt it all over, but most glaringly was in Hattori. She couldn’t know the thoughts that went through his mind but she was as close as a mortal came to doing so. Venom could tell from the moment he returned something was off but she had attributed her paranoia to his illness.

The last few days he had felt distant at best as she watched his thoughts eat away at him, but he had yet to bring them to her for council. That was until he called out for her. He didn’t often summon her, it seemed he preferred to find her in his quiet ways. She knew not why he chose this moment, but she wouldn’t hesitate to make her way to his side.

Sunset gaze fell on his massive frame, and she bit her lip as emotions warred within her. Part of her wished to rush to the husband that she loved, the other half that was far too aware of his silent frustrations held her back. She slowed as she approached from behind, her ears laying lazily on her skull as she tried to ease the tension building in her limbs.

"Hattori?” She asked after him softly, letting her own gaze drift out over the ocean as she took her place beside him.

dove island archipelago / dusk/ warm
"Hattori & Venom"

The Shogun waited and yet even his title was starting to chafe, like a harness strapped too tight around his chest. Coming here had not been a mistake, it was exactly what he'd needed at the time and it had been seasons well spent, but now? Turning to greet the Empress of Ashen, he offered her a dip of his head, shoulders ducking as he averted his gaze for a moment. Even bowing felt less natural to him, like he had to force it through. She spoke to him softly, affection curling around the edges of his name and though he loved her as much as a man like him could... Would it ever be enough? Like shoving a square into a circular hole.

"Venom." He returned in kind, eying her a moment longer before he blinked slowly.

Where to begin? Hattori was well aware of what it would seem like, he'd helped her build Ashen into a stronger version of itself and now he was demanding more? As though preparing to steal it from beneath the pale of her nose. If...pushed and cornered, he would if he must. But the same could be said for all things, with no other alternative he would do whatever necessary. But Venom deserved better, for them to speak as equals, to see if things could be salvaged or at the very least end in an amiable way. He cared for her unlike anyone else and had given her all he could provide, surely that meant something in the grand scheme of things.

He had never been much of a talker, would never be.

"Is this everything you wanted?"

Venom did not know the thoughts that filled Hattori’s head after the illness. She looked forward to returning to the status quo, to have her husband at her side as the two of them ruled the greatest Empire Boreas had ever seen. He was a huge part of her success, she knew she couldn't boast such success without him. His talent and skills were part of the reason she loved him. His loyalty was unfaltering, he supported her without question, he fathered their children with skill she never expected from him. He had become her other half.

And yet when he looked at her now Venom felt herself shudder inwardly. Like the world wasn’t quite aligned on its axis. She tried to ignore the heavy tension that seemed to weigh her down as white gloved paws pulled her close to Hattori. She lowered herself to her haunches beside him, where she belonged, but the feeling was only worse there.

Silence settled over them for a moment as Venom waited for his words, he had summoned her here and she would hear him out. Eventually he asked if she had gained everything she ever wanted. "Everything and more.” She told him softly. With him beside her there was no threat that could compare to their power. "After everything that we’ve been through.. I never thought we would become so perfect.” And it was. Toxicity’s looming presence was gone, their children were coming into their own, the Empire was flourishing after the cursed night. This was exactly where she wished to be, watching their Empire together.


"Hattori & Venom"

Hattori expected as much and in a sense was glad to hear it. For the longest time his sole purpose was to provide, to give and meld what she could not, but his sickness had put things into perspective. Was forcing his paw in ways he'd been able to subdue and bite back, till now. No matter how it came across or how it seemed to an outside perspective: he did not want to take or ruin. She had her empire and legacy shaped to fit her design, but what of Hattori's? He would not force her to change more than she already had, there was compromise and then there was this. A whole different beast entirely, one from far across the ocean to a world and way of life that called out for him. Impossible to ignore.

Perfect.

She knew him so well, unlike anyone else living, no doubt she could feel something was amiss, but this was not a topic that could be dealt with feelings and assumptions alone. Words had to be uttered, even if they caught in his throat.

Hattori moved to sit as well, his back talons curling into the sand and leaving grooves in his wake. He realised he was stalling, not alike him at all. But what did that even consist of any more? It was hard to say, he felt different in even the smallest things, a man changed.

"What I want... Ashen means so much to you, I would not force it to change any more than it already has. It does not feel perfect to me."

This was what she envisioned as a young pup, it was everything she had seen and then some. Strength ran through their pack and into the packs connected in their Empire. Venom had everything from her mother’s vision and then some. An incredible family surrounding her, that would be there for her even after such a dark long night. They endured throughout. As Hattori grew quiet Venom doubted that security she felt, even more than she had while sick with the crystal illness. Her stomach jumped to her throat and her heart dropped. She said nothing though, for a quiet moment everything was as it should be.

The gentle sound of the ocean waves soothed her, Hattori’s warm presence sat beside her, the moon was as it should be, and the Empire stood at its strongest. But life and the world were in a constant state of change, nothing stayed the same. There were no foundations of concrete and stone, it was all sand. Bound by the will of nature itself. And so, Venom’s life would change as well.

Finally her husband spoke, the Empress found no reassurance in his words. He didn’t wish to see Ashen change any longer, but it was not perfect. For so long now, more than a year and a third of her life, she had Hattori at her side. There to support any decision she made like it was his own, that scene of two wolves in perfect harmony shattered. Venom only blinked once in surprise, and her hesitant smile had fallen to neutrality.

"If this isn’t what you wanted, why haven’t you ever told me before?” She whispered softly, trying not to rush to conclusions and try to interpret a man she thought she could read so well. The one who was her other half, how long had he not seen the same? Since the beginning? After the sickness? "What… Do you desire?” She forced out softly.

"Hattori & Venom"

The Shogun felt her demeanour shift, soft edges sharpening over as she folded into herself, to hide from the hurt.

"I thought it was." Hattori told her, a little offended she thought he'd been keeping things from her. He had not, could not, it was why they were speaking at this very moment. "Our time together was never wasted." he exhaled, practically sighed as he squeezed his eyes shut. This would be the only time he would ever admit this aloud. "I do not remember much of what I did during the Long Night, but it has changed me. I feel it."

So much so that he barely felt as though he belonged here, like the past had waited long enough. A slow acting poison that refused to be denied. Being here muddled everything up, made choices that ought to be easy dredged with hesitation and regret. This was not like him, Venom unmade him, tugged at the seams till he felt himself being torn apart in different directions. And now he was making a choice, putting his paw down.

"I am a good Shogun and little else." He turned to look at her then, his gaze glazed over by the light of the dusky sky. "But I understand this may seem like an act of betrayal. I am willing to do what I must to make us even."

He laid his front left paw out in front of him, limb extended as he took a deep breath.

"I am sorry, Venom."

And then Hattori promptly bent down and crunched off his left, pinky toe. Amends made?

Venom had seen Hattori as her partner long before she took him as husband or mate. He was pledged his loyalty to her and that had sealed their fate. The Empress would grow old with the one she chose, the one who had made himself invaluable, irreplaceable, in her life. Having that pillar removed from beneath her rocked the woman to her very core. Venom became shocked and speechless as Hattori spoke. She kept the building emotions to herself, expression neutral as she listened to the man beside her, a man who was no longer the wolf she vowed to give her heart to.

Her eyes gaze sightlessly towards the sea as she struggled with the words he said, a willful disconnect as her mind tried to refute what was happening. The shock hid the pain that was growing in her chest. She knew the words that went unsaid, she had always been able to read between the lines Hattori spoke. He had no wish to continue on the path they were on, she was no longer the center of his world. Hattori was ending their partnership, he was breaking his vow. The cracks formed over her heart, and he spoke as if his apology or repentance would do anything to soothe his decision to leave her. He did not wish to see Ashen change for him, and yet his actions would restructure Venom and the pack on a fundamental level.

He said her name and pulled her from her daze, just in time to watch him rip his toe from his own paw for her. He would leave his mark on her, a wound inflicted that might not ever truly heal on the Empire, and he believed to make up for his decision with a toe. He would carry his shame forever, but Venom saw no real remorse in him.

"If you were truly sorry you would have kept your vow.” The soft hopeful whisper left her voice as her future crumpled in her paws. Anger flickered in her chest, daring to ignite and overwhelm her good senses. She took his offering, but his short term pain couldn't eclipse what he was doing. "So what do you want, oath breaker?” She asked him then, her expression changing. She no longer recognized the man before her, he truly had been changed. Venom scrambled away from him like he had stuck her physically. Her quills lifted with her hackles. She grit her teeth and blinked away the harsh emotions that filled her. "What is more important to you than our marriage?” Venom finished, her voice deflating in defeat. "What is more important than me?” She cried out, finally feeling the hurt and personal pain of being rejected by the one she loved and cared so deeply for. The one who had held her undying loyalty, but did not return it in the end. Venom couldn’t keep them back anymore and small rivulets of tears began to fall down silver marked cheeks.

"Hattori & Venom"

Hattori's paw throbbed in beat with the thudding of his heart, blood slicking the sand beneath his paw. Faintly he recognised that it would hurt, that he would walk with a limp for quite some time but it did little to distract him. Not when a far heavier pain was before him, the sort he was not equipped in any capacity to deal with. To mend and soothe was not in his nature, never had been, he was as close to a fish out of water as he would ever get. What could he even do now the damage was done: Venom as wounded as he'd ever seen her. He sighed, the act unnatural and foreign. Like he was still clinging onto old habits, trying to fill the mould Venom deserved. To admit his wrongdoings was not impossible for the Fallen Shogun and yet he knew they would do little to make the Empress feel any better. Was this even something that could be fixed with words alone?

"Is that what you truly wish? You would have me lie to you? " He shook his head, she was blameless in this. She scrambled to put distance between them, shields up and gaze filled with loathing. Hattori did not move to stop her, to hold her close as she once might have liked. "I ask nothing of you. You have done enough, we both know it."

But hadn't he too? He knew with unshakeable certainty his service to her was unfailable, that this moment aside he had done nothing wrong. Her anger was justified, but he felt as though she was too quick to look past their time together, that she sat atop a cushy throne, in part due to all of his hard work and dedication. To only ask for this, a clean break in return did not feel like too much.

"Can you not see, I am doing this for you. That everything I have done upon entering your service, even now, is for you. " This was the closest to an argument either of them were going to get. Venom could snarl and raise her hackles, he simply wanted to talk. "To maintain what is yours, giving you my efforts and achievements and everything else.  I am doing this because you are important." He paused, his voice raised louder than he would have liked.

"I do not wish to be your enemy, Venom. You know this."

Hattori was bleeding, the scent of his lifeblood should have caused her nothing but worry and compassion but she couldn’t conjure the emotions. Not when she was facing this breakdown between them. Flashes of their relationship played in her mind as she grasped and pleaded inwardly that she wasn’t living this. She tried to believe for a moment that she hadn’t chosen wrong, that she hadn’t put her trust and her devotion into someone who would do this to her. He told her they were partners, he had just as much say in their lives as she did. Now suddenly, with no warning and no preparation he was using his power to make the decision to part from her.

He tried to rationalize his actions, he was doing this for her, as he always had. She was his priority, as he had been for her. He was her beloved husband, unfailable, unbreakable, forever loyal. Or he had said he would be. The emotions became far too much to control in both parties, Hattori’s appeared in the way he raised his voice, as if more volume would negate how Venom saw the situation, like he could convince her to feel anything other than what was going through her right now. While Venom felt the emotions spill over visually in the way tears began to stream down her cheeks. Invisibly she felt her chest clench and ache as he ripped her heart from its place there.

"Tearing me apart? Tearing my family to pieces, my Kingdom? For me?” The Empress whispered through soft gasps as she tried and failed to keep her breathing in control. "I can’t believe a word you say anymore.” He said that he would always be there for her, they had joined their lives together for eternity as husband and wife, and now as he rescinded his vow so did he rescind any credibility.

As the tears ran down her features Venom couldn’t keep her eyes on him any longer, she felt shameful looking at him. Her demeanor fell, she couldn’t protect herself anymore, her brokenness as laid bare as her quills lay back on her neck. "Leave me.” She finally finished through clenched teeth. There would be no redemption, from the moment he spoke those words their relationship was broken. Being in his presence further would only intensify the pain she felt growing inside. It didn’t matter what his said, what his motives were, or who the cursed night had turned him into. He was no longer her beloved husband and partner, while he had no wish to make her his enemy he had hurt her like that had always been his plan.


"Hattori & Venom"