Kagayakumono

"Kagayakumono," it said.

I stared at it. How do I know it isn't lying? Fuck. It answered fast, a power play? The meaning of that play? I couldn't show weakness. "You have a question?"

What do you aim for?

I took a deep breath. "I will answer honestly, but I need time to consider your question, the moment I suspect you're lying, I leave you to freeze. I will leave you to the cold as I contemplate your question and my next question," I said as I closed the freezer door.

I sat down. What do I aim for? I don't think it was opened ended by accident. It might be a mistake to consider it my time on mcstories and chyoa as a reference, but occult magic books with a demon sub theme definitely didn't feel like things that a smart med student could outsmart this easily. It felt, almost too easy. What did they say? Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall? Something like that. I hated to think that such a passage may actually be helping me. Hmm.

I shuffled my deck of cards. F. Frog, Fox, Flamingo, and... Ferret. One more. Flea. Twenty five seconds? Not bad. Pulse. 90BPM. Good. Temp, 99.1. Good. I took a deep breath. Okay. Time is an enemy. But I have some time. Panic is a worse enemy than time. The girls will begin worrying soon, but I can cross that bridge when I come to it. If the book simply died while I am thinking would be optimal, but I can't count on that much luck.

So, why would it ask me my aim? It wants me to be able to answer honestly, but deceptively? That makes sense. Pride right? It made me feel proud? So maybe it feels pride as well? If so, my fairness and challenge may be my best card against it. As long as I keep the playing field fair, it may keep telling the truth. Though, I have to be careful, I can't rule out the possibility of it trying to mix a lie in.

The biggest question is if it is bluffing, if it could die in a few hours or a day. Then killing it would be easy enough. But a week or longer? I would probably fail. But I can't ask that, it would definitely lie, and it would reveal my worry. I have to ask questions that hold my hand back and get it to reveal itself. Just as it is doing, asking me questions that I won't lie to, but in which I can hold myself back on. Okay. That explains the question. It knows I may want to kill it, but it thinks i may be willing to budge. But, am I?

Honestly? Yeah. I wasn't a saint and if I couldn't win. I would make a deal.

Okay, Kagayakumono. Why that? Shining one? Shining thing? Codegeass? Google wasn't gonna help, but thinking of the cover. It gave me an idea. I opened the fridge.

"My aim, is wide, to wide to answer in one direction and is relative to what you offer and what it costs me," I said. "My next question, what is another name you have been known by?"

Aphrodite

What? A Greek goddess of love and beauty. I clenched my hand. Is it fucking with me? I took a deep breath. Don't let it rattle me. "I am being fair, remember that, your next question."

Friendship, bloodkin, or one thousand their weight in strangers, if you could save only one, which?

I closed the freezer. Well, that, it told me a lot more than I thought it would. Obviously it was honing in on what it my aim was. But, the lack of fear, the calmness. My senses told me it wasn't a front. It wasn't scared. That meant! It was winning, it didn't matter if I figured it out! I could figure out who it was, I could figure out how to destroy it. If it could teleport, or it could teleport. All this was just playing with its food. Damnit! Well, it was just a hunch. I decided to dive into google. Trying to connect Aphrodite to Kagayakumono was... a bit of a pain. But... eventually. I got it.

"You feeling okay?" Stacy asked opening the door and looking inside.

I smiled and nodded. "Yeah, just doing one more temp check," I said holding my thermometer.

"Chrissy said Eddie is buying pizza after practice, and not to worry, just him coming over, you want anything special?" she asked.

"Tell him he better bring one veggie pie for us carpet munchers," I said, wearing a wry smile. She nodded and left me alone.

My cog test showed me better than before. Well, let's move to the end game. I opened the fridge.

"Friends," I said. "Not that I have to say more, but given who you are, I think it would be rather pathetic to use dirty tactics against me if I am going to give you an answer so detailed. I am working to be a doctor, so to willingly say I would let a thousand times the number of my friends and family die breaks my heart. But it is the truth."

I paused and took a deep breath. "So, it took me a minute to figure you out. Aphrodite, or Venus, in ancient times it would have been the brightest thing you could see rising at night. The shining one or the Goddess of Love, depending where you were. Different cultures, and I can do probably list off a few more of your names, but either I got it or I didn't. No, I think you aren't scared. I think I did get some of this right, you are unable to hide your heat, and cold can kill you, but you can do something to survive. So, my question is this, am I right? If so, show me."

Yes

The lights flickered for a moment and then the power went out. I laughed. Hahaha.

"Ah man!" I heard everyone say from the other room.

I grabbed the plastic bag and moved the book to the table and closed the freezer. The weight caused it to lightly graze me as I set it down. Fuck... I fell to my knee and banged my shoulder on the table. The arousal was much more intense. And that feeling of pride was... just unbearable. I had just had a battle with wits with basically Aphrodite and I dunno, maybe win was too much? But this counted as a draw at least? Was it not at least somewhat correct for me to want to shout that from the roof? To express how amazing I was?

This fucking world. This world that I had worked so hard in. I didn't complain, I made friends, I found my tribe, no help from my blood kin. No help from the government that should be fucking helping people like me. And... I shook my head.

Feels nice, doesn't it?

"Yes," I said. Obviously.

Your turn.

Really? It would waste a question like that? Well... I suppose... the game was basically over. I really only had one last play.

"You already understand then, even if I can't win. If your deal isn't good enough. I might as well risk trying if it means saving my friends. Who knows, sometimes, sometimes it is the lucky ones who win, not the better ones. So, I suppose my final question is, what are you offering me?"