The Difference Between The Hero & The Martyr

The Difference Between the Hero & the Martyr

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Kazuha eats the divine punishment directly after shielding his partner with his body. It doesn't save Tomo from the shockwave and intense heat, but his injuries are minor compared to Kazuha's: severe burns in lightning patterns, branching from a clean gash running at an angle from his face down through his shoulder. You'd think he'd die on impact or not long after, but he doesn't even fall to his knees. Kaedehara stands firm to show he'll not be cowed by the display of power. Is it adrenaline that holds him up? Probably, but what does it matter? His mind focused solely on the survival of Tomo. When he turns to look at him, though, Kazuha's blood runs cold to see a face of betrayal glaring back at him.

"You idiot," Tomo says as he gets his own feet under him. "This is a duel, a duel with clear rules and honor riding on the opponents. Why- Why did you interfere?!"

"T-Tomo?"

"You dare dishonor me and everyone who stands against the Shogunate?!"

"No! I- I just- I wanted—"

I was being selfish, Kazuha thinks. I wanted to save your from becoming a martyr. He never finishes his sentence as the Raiden Shogun prepares to strike twice and take the life she's owed. Strong arms wrap themselves around him and haul him off to safety. Kazuha doesn't remember what happens after that.

He wakes up to find himself in a Resistance camp, being tended to by their medical team. Tomo is nowhere. General Gorou introduces himself and explains that his friend had dropped him off and left.

Gorou tells him, "He didn't explain very much—only that you survived the Almighty Shogun's wrath. Pretty impressive!" Kazuha, ofc, is only concerned about Tomo's whereabouts and wellbeing, but Gorou can't give him much information. "He never said where he was going next."

It's like the whole world shatters before him, and Kazuha tries desperately to get outta bed to hunt down his lover. "Don't- Don't leave me! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I hadn't meant—" He's silenced by pain and violent coughing. His body is weak, but Gorou still has to put strength into wrestling the hysteric patient back into bed, evidence as to what sorta person Kazuha was to survive the Musou no Hitotachi.

After winning their struggle, Gorou demands he rest, and then they will talk once he's better. "I'll see about sending ppl to find your friend." Kazuha can only slur out pleas for him to do so before succumbing to exhaustion. Whether it's from his condition or a sedative, no one needs to know.

Meanwhile, Tomo does not go back for his punishment at the Tenshukaku. He instead wanders Inazuma alone with the heaviest heart he's ever had and an even more burdened mind. He isn't just abandoning Kazuha; he's running from him. Forget about the duel, forget about the Shogun, the divine punishment, the Vision Hunt Decree! They angered him, boiled his blood, but nothing could compare to his beloved's willingness to forfeit his life for him. For him! You can't call it indignance or fury because the thought of Kazuha's grisly wounds doesn't ignite the urge to beat Shogunate soliders or curse Kazuha himself some more. It's to run.

Thanks to Tomo's reckless heroism, his partner's overwhelming love drove him to throw himself at death in his stead. Call him cruel, but he had to get away from Kazuha. He can't stomach the idea of ever having to see him in such a state again because of a thoughtless man named Tomo.

It's all his fault, and if he must separate himself from Kazuha to preserve him, then it's karma.

What I like the most about this lore is that Madara’s not a god of death and warfare. He’s more akin to the Greek goddess Hestia, who presided over the hearth and home. If Tobirama retaliated by kidnapping Izuna, he’d have a connection to Demeter, too.  

Madara as an elder god. ❤ (Part 2 of the Naruto Gods series)

Madara winces as the molten slag on his arms contracts and hardens with each touch of the field of frigid stalagmites. He flicks off the gathering obsidian shard and assesses his counterpart–takes stock of the strong, slow beat of Kakuzu’s heart in Tobirama’s chest and how it mirrors his own. They share a similar form, if not function, that much is obvious. Why their creator sought to have this heart container in particular brought to heel is beyond him. Madara finds that, though fire roars in his veins, he does not have a taste for senseless destruction.

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Listen, would anyone indulge me and entertain my TmKz power fantasy where Tomo still dies, but Kazu's a nine-tailed fox that tears Ei's puppet asunder, furiously searching for her when he discovers that's what the Shogun is?

It's equal parts sad and satisfying. The sadness comes from Tomo's death and Kazuha's survivor's guilt. As a powerful yokai who could've won a seat amongst the Seven millennia ago, he should've been there to eat the wretch before she could summon her sword. How could he've let another his most precious person die needlessly? He's learned nothing from his disgustingly long existence!

My satisfaction comes from watching this colossal fox that stands as high as the main building in Tenshukaku utterly demolish Raiden Ei's little to- puppet and forcing her to confront him in person. He demands retribution, recompense, revenge, whatever you wanna call it. He has half a mind to deprive Inazuma of their god. The only one who can put a stop to Kazuha's rampage is his lover, Tomo, and he's dead; so, there's a fat chance someone can use Talk no Jutsu on him. Alternatively, and this is a very slight alteration, Kazu reveals his true form when the Resistance storms Tenshukaku, ripping the head off the Shogun as she attempts to murder Aether.

Honestly, if alpha!Gilgamesh became king consort of omega!Somnus, he wouldn’t want his true name to be written in the family registry. He’d want to keep his identities as the king’s shield and the king’s spouse separate to maintain some form of professional dignity; so, he might go by an alias—Erebus Lucis Caelum?—when needed as the king consort. A potential consequence is history forgetting that it was the first Shield of the King who fathered the line of Lucis. Gilgamesh would be perfectly happy with this.

All's Fair in Love & War

Inspired by:

When I read about a Kazuha w virtually omnipresent eyes and ears, presumably thru his vision, I brimmed with inspiration.

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Imagine that Kazuha (O) became known by the Shogunate for this amazing feat, and as this takes place years before the damning decrees, the Tenryou Commission didn't seek to confiscate his vision. Instead, they used him for their own ends in law enforcement and later the search for visions.

The Kaedehara clan was more than eager to give up their only child for the opportunity to reenter high society. The icing on the cake: "Baal" was so generous enough to grant a marriage between her own brother, Kunikuzushi, and Kazuha. (Yes, Scaramouche [A] is Ei's little brother.) This tightly secured the old samurai clan's place among the nobility.

Though they started out at odds thanks to Scara's abrasive personality, ScaraKazu built a love you'd probably only see in one of Yae's light novels.

The evidence: When the Raiden Shogun intended to punish her brother for some offense or failure, Kazuha didn't even blink before shielding his partner. Her lightning struck him square in the face, rendering him completely blind, hard-of-hearing, and without a good sense of smell. The top half of his face was branded with scars lightning strikes.

When she had no sympathy for his ruination at her hands, calling it a punishment for them both, Kunikuzushi vowed to revenge his partner and cast away his name in favor of the title, Scaramouche. He cared for Kazuha until he could adjust without three of his five senses and left without a goodbye to join the Fatui.

Fortunately, Kazuha didn't lose his unique ability in the incident. Were he useless to the Tenryou Commission, especially in their hunt for visions, "Baal" would've done away with him and sentenced him to death for association with a traitor. In the privacy of their home within the palace, he prayed for Kunikuzushi's safety and eventual return. Unbeknownst to him, his alpha had indeed planned to come back.

At the height of the Vision Hunt, the Sangonomiya Resistance sent Tomo (A), a stranger to Kazuha, to carry out an assassination attempt on the "Shogun's Eyes" to cripple the Shogunate's efficiency.

Tomo wasn't ninja, but the Resistance couldn't rely on anyone else at the time. Thus, he infiltrated his target's residence and prepared to strike Kazuha down as he sat peacefully on his porch. He noticed, however, that his target couldn't see, implied by the silk embroidered blindfold around his face.

The next thing he discovered was that the other man couldn't hear nor smell well. There was no reaction to any close proximity or when he knocked over a vase...which made his day.

He hated Shogunate dogs, but this was just unfair. Tomo had no desire to cut down someone so highly disadvantaged. (Even when he was finally caught, the tremendous fight Kaedehara put up didn't sway him differently.) Instead, he opted to kidnap him for the Resistance's use. He wasn't dead like they wanted him to be, but he wasn't at the Shogun's disposal either. Still a win, right?

Regardless, General Gorou was understandably upset with him for disobeying orders in the name of mercy. Yet, at the same time, he acknowledged the ethical dilemma Tomo was in. (He wasn't so sure he'd've made a different decision himself.) Punishment had to be dealt, though; so, the responsibility for the surprise prisoner was foisted onto Tomo. The bruises and cuts made by someone proficient with a blade made it apparent that Kazuha couldn't be left unsupervised.

Tomo: Why don't we just lock him up somewhere?!

Gorou: You're the one who thinks we can pry information out of him; so, why don't you make friends w him and learn everything you can?

Neither parties involved were happy with this arrangement, least of all Kazuha.

He needed to return home in case Kunikuzushi came back to him and thought he'd been left when Kazu wasn't there. He said as much to Tomo after he proved himself trustworthy, and the fondness only grew when he made a genuine offer to help find the omega's mate if he cooperated w the Resistance. Then started the downward spiral toward a romance.

From the shadows, Scaramouche seethed when these rebels dared to put their hands on his Kazuha, and his blood boiled as this "Tomo" began seducing him. Guilt for not telling him he'd been in Inazuma for a year already fought equally hard for room in his heart, but there was time for that later. The mission came first, and once it was finished, he'd go to Kazuha and make up for lost time. Tomo would also pay for his transgressions. A nobody trying to lure his partner from his marriage bed would not be overlooked.

Kazuha Whump in the Wizarding World

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Kazuha used the Killing Curse on Raiden Ei, the Lady Shogun of Japan's Magical Shogunate. Her discriminatory decree against half-bloods and muggle-born persons lead to Tomo, his lover w/ no magical ancestors, declaring a duel before her throne. The stipulations said that his victory meant the abolishment of the decree, but if the Lady Shogun won, he would accept death by her wand. To no one's surprise, Tomo lost.

As Raiden Ei prepared to cast the Killing Curse, Kazuha struck her w/ one of his own before she could even point her wand at Tomo. Everyone was in shock, esp. himself. He hadn't thought; he only moved and saved Tomo from death. Onlookers screamed in horror and fled the scene, others barked out orders to seize the lovers both, but the only thing that Kazuha cared about was Tomo's look of betrayal. He'd brought shame upon a duel of honor and murdered the Lady Shogun. The Kaedehara wizard was a gifted legilimens, but he didn't need the ability to mindread to understand the severity of his actions. As Shogunate officers closed in on them, Kazuha drug his dearest to the nearest fireplace and narrowly escaped the Magical Shogunate. Outside, Tomo condemned him and severed their relationship.

The consequences that followed this incident were the capture of both men; a trial overseen by the new Lord Shogun, Kamisato Ayato; and the absolution of Tomo on the grounds that the duel was sabotaged by a third party. Kazuha plead and was found guilty, but instead of the traditional punishment of seppuku for such a grievous crime, he was sentenced to eternity in Japan's version of Azkaban.

It was an underground facility guarded by baku, yokai that ate dreams and nightmares alike, but these specific ones were trained to eat only dreams. Thus, prisoners could only experience terrifying, horrifying things when they slept. You were very lucky if you didn't dream at all.

Kazuha was thrown into his cramped cell, stripped down and reclothed in a simple white kimono. You might've mistaken it for a pathetic excuse of a furisode, but this garment was enchanted; its long sleeves forced the wearer to have their arms crossed in front of them and bound them close to the body at all times except mealtimes. (You had to eat fast before they reset.) It was also rather heavy for what it appeared to be. On top of this standard wear, hwvr, Kazuha had a blindfold tied tightly around his head.

His guess was that it was a precaution. He was a known legilimens, one of the most talented of his generation, and it made sense that they wanted to protect the guards from his influence. If you asked him, tho, he'd tell you it was entirely unnecessary. If he escaped, where would he run off to? What sort of life could he live? More importantly, who would be waiting for him?

Oh, that's right: no one.