She may as well have been his mother.

She would never say that she was his better half, but she had definitely fulfilled the need that no one else apparently cared enough to.

Kagayaki had never had the luxury of being small and cuddly. She couldn't even indulge in her ability to shift. She had always used her other forms to benefit and aid Masamune.

From turning into a snarling dog to ward off his mothers mangy tomcat, to being a hissing bobcat to "dissuade" his fathers (stepfather's) stupid badger, very rarely did she shift because she felt the desire to.

It was only natural for her to chose something that was maneuverable and still threatening; something that could move with Masamune easily, whilst still encouraging everyone to keep their distance.

Once again, she operated on instinct, selecting her "default" form without really thinking about it. A raccoon, light enough to be carried from point A to point B but still able to hiss and hurt anyone who approached them with ill intent.

She was always looking around from the darkened mask on her face, tilting her head downward to make her eyes glow and flattening her ears to make sure nobody got close without her permission. Telling everyone "This human is mine and if you want to hurt him, you'll have to go through me." Very few were ever spared this glance. Humans, spirits, no matter who they were or whom they belonged to, she made sure they all knew.

Of course, this caused some issues when Masamune started dating.

It was a topic of a few discussions, mainly revolving around Kagayaki's distaste for being touched and cuddled by another spirit. After receiving growls and spitting hisses for so long, she may have ended up developing a small aversion to contact. But why did it matter?

"I've made it this far without physical affection, why should I change now?" She didn't mention that Masamune's contact was a major part of her life, nor did she state that she appreciated the little stray kitten that they adopted from the street.

But she acquiesced when he stated that he never intended to actually be serious with whomever he decided to date. She might've had an issue with toying with someone's heart, but it would teach the other about life and Masamune probably would need some friends behind her and their adopted kitten.

So, she got used to other spirits nosing at her during the human intimacy. She also learned to invest in a lint roller and to fully appreciate her opposable thumbs.

It was never serious and once again, she made use of her shifting. With the sensitive ones, she'd be a cute, but still surly looking puppy dog; to offer faux comfort to the other human's spirit and to encourage them not to make a big fuss. With the aggressive ones who refused to leave, she found herself turning into a bear or a bull, to politely insist that they and their spirit get out and never call again. Every single time, they were surprised to see that the spirit who had always been a raccoon shift, apparently thinking that she had settled.

This was their process and lifecycle and neither had all that big an issue with it.

At least, it wasn't until Kagayaki noticed a lower classman and a very unusual pink, spirit starting to show up in the corner of her eye.

When Masamune gave the book to the brown haired youngster, she had actually been a bit surprised to see a little pink scrap fall in front of her. Landing on it's back, blinking at her with too large eyes for it's tiny kitten head. Bad move, considering there was no telling what had been spilled or tracked in on this godforsaken carpet.

She picked the little thing up and put it on its feet. Then she walked away.

She might've been slightly suspicious when the pair showed up in the background once, twice she might've been thinking she was seeing thing. But when the kid confessed…Kagayaki honestly wasn't sure how to react. Masamune responded in a way the she hadn't expected from him either.

When the boy ran away crying, the two of them stayed in the library; everybody had left and it allowed them to converse honestly and in an environment that wasn't muggy with familial turmoil.

Masamune told her that he wasn't sure why he yelled like that.

Kagayaki wasn't sure either. Two guys dating? Modern openness or not, this was just strange. It might've been more tolerable if the kid's spirit was one of the rare cream of the crop, a spirit with the same gender as their human.

She was unique sure, but c'mon; who wanted to be associated with someone who looked like a child's drawing come to life? There was no point to it. It was weird, creepy and gross. Plus, she had no desire to associate with a sexually confused spirit who apparently couldn't even get her colors straight!

When the pair came back, with another umbrella and misplaced apologies, Kagayaki came up with an idea. Watching how the kid blushed and ran with his little rosy mouse quivering in his pocket, she had the perfect plan.

"Break him, play his game and when the time is just right, you can shatter him." This kid had the perfect life; everyone did, except for them. They could play around and have their own little fun and then, they could destroy the two of them.

The next day, they both gave apologies and confirmation for them to date.

They treated this relationship like they had treated many others, keeping the other at a certain distance whilst still maintaining some semblance of being together.

Dating meant spending time together and Kaguyaki was still on the fence about that. The more people spend time together, they more intimate the relationship and the more intimate relationship, the more body contact between the members.

Kaguyaki didn't like being touched by anyone but Masamune and she never opened up enough to invite other spirits into his circle. It was a fact and it was not likely to change. Fortunately, their new partners had never stepped over the line. They actually continued to spook at the hint of body contact.

There was no breach of personal space, but Kaguyaki could tell that Masamune was noticing things, as was she. She watched as the brown-haired kohai ran into the support beam and as his spirit happened to be so mesmerized with her, that she ended up running into the exact same beam upon being startled by someone's snubbed-nose dog spirit, who had almost stepped on the then cat shaped, pink one. She heard her human laugh, and then doubt began settling inside.

She did not respond when Masamune turned down an admirer that afternoon. She was caught up in that sound that she had heard so rarely in their lives. It had been small, almost unnoticeable; so it wasn't to butter up to the clumsy teen and they had both moved after the rest of the students afterwards, so it wasn't to entice him to stay and talk….

She wouldn't admit it, but she felt concerned and a bit scared at what was happening. For so long she had maintained a stoic disinterest in the world. Now, two little stalkers, who were somehow ensnaring her human, were breaking that façade. She could tell that something was beginning to blossom inside her human, like the cherry blossoms drifting in the breeze outside. Kaguyaki clamped her heart shut and shook her head at the idea. This was intended to be a trick and her human should know that. She had planned to end it that night. When the object of Masamune's affection requested to come over that night, she intended to shut the other spirit out in an attempt to snap the humans out of this infatuation.

But Kagayaki was not so coldhearted and desensitized, that she didn't understand the meaning of them both taking the others virginity. She hadn't known what Masamune was planning when they took their still nameless partners to their home. The two flinched a bit when they sensed the unsaid issues within, but still proceeded into the house.

They sat together, they spoke; the other spirit, in the shape of what Kagayaki knew to be a lesser panda with her collar around her neck. The other spirit spoke softly, occasionally looking away while her fur turned another different shade of pink.

Kagayaki progressively felt something that she didn't recognize, something that made her feel warm on the inside and caused her to see things that she had never noticed. She saw how the other spirit's soft, fluffy fur made her paws look rounded and puffy, she saw how her nose would occasionally twitch like she was about to sneeze but she never would and she also noticed how the other spirits eyes sparkled the same green as her humans.

Kaguyaki had always thought that love felt like fire. That when someone experienced it (or thought they did) that it burned their insides and that it drove them to make rash decisions and stupid mistakes.

It didn't feel like that. Love isn't hot; it's just warm. She didn't picture fiery red heat; she saw pink softness and gentle warmth.

Kaguyaki could feel warmth in her chest, a gradual heat that tentatively crept into her spine and began blooming everywhere in her body. Any intention of snuffing out this warmth was gone so very quickly and she instead found herself living in what was happening at that specific moment.

Masamune and Kagayaki were both exceptionally gentle that night; they always were when taking someone else's sexual innocence (There was no need to be mean in that sort of way. Noncommittal or not, they weren't going to cause unnecessary, physical pain!), but it truly was making love. It generated the sensations and emotions that they had never thought they would feel.

Kagayaki tucked the red panda under her body during the initial penetration and when she flinched at the pain, she whispered apologies and found herself meaning them in total honesty. She groomed the others face with her teeth and when she felt her foot nudging at her underbelly, a place that Kagayaki never let anybody touch, she found that she was not offended in the slightest.

Kagayaki could feel her human's emotions through the bond; she immediately knew when he whispered those words. She knew that her plan had failed; and she was perfectly okay with that.

Kagayaki requested that the other spirit continue using that form as long as she could. Later that night, before she fell asleep, Kagayaki took a quick look at her partner's (lover's?) collar. With the night vision given to her by her raccoon form, she was able to make out the fancy, golden stenciling on the pale pink collar. It was incredibly small, but she could just make it out.

"Bara" Kagayaki quickly placed that name in her head, next to the image of a pink lesser panda.

After that night, life changed for the both of them in a way neither really considered. Yes, his parents still argued, yes, he was as inconsequential as before; but now, there were two who actually seemed to care.

Bara, sweet little Bara; became something to actively look forward to. Just like her human, she held an awkward, yet cheerful enthusiasm.

Something Kagayaki desperately needed within her life.

The possibility for happiness, along with the sweet love blooming inside her was a constant source of warmth in her body. It only grew when Bara was near her.

That was why she reacted so slowly.

She was lying on her side on the cushion they had both been resting on. Bara was sitting up next to her, sitting on her haunches with her paws out cutely in front of her.

She hadn't been paying attention to what she was saying; she had just been…so…warm.

But she did hear the word love. She had thought that the other was being timid. She rolled over and looked at her lazily.

She was about to answer. She was about to ask what was making her upset.

She was about to do a lot of things. She felt humor in her chest and she heard Masamune laugh. She smiled.

Then Bara fell over, gritting her teeth tightly and curling up.

Kagayaki felt her cheek sting.

And then they were gone, from the house, from school; and apparently from their lives.

Life just turned from one crappy cluster to the next after that.

They heard from the grapevine in school that their little kouhai duo had fiancés somewhere about two days later. She honestly doubted it at the time; she didn't want to believe that the feelings that got her though the days were just pretty words and parlor tricks. She didn't want to think that all of the vulnerability was nothing.

But all of the confirmation, the remarks and questions of "You honestly didn't know?", the "You hadn't heard?", and the "They didn't tell you?".

Honestly, she just tried not to answer those questions or think about how valid they were.

The divorce and the fight ended up taking a majority of her attention anyways.

She honestly couldn't say she was upset to see the man and his spirit walk away and not come back. It was one less concern.

It was a miracle that Masamune graduated. Kagayaki chalked it up to everything happening so late in the season. She actually found herself missing school during the move with Masamune's mother. She sat in his lap in the car, letting him stroke her ashy gray fur with a blank look on his face.

College seemed like a fresh start.

New settings, better independence and a chance to forget absolutely everything; but the thoughts of lost love and possible trickery still clung to her mind like a parasite.

Meeting Takafumi seemed like a miracle.

Nigai was smart and loyal, a black-backed jackal with a hardworking attitude that she could admire. For a while, she could pretend that things were going well and that this was what they had both been waiting for.

Then she realized just how many vices came with adulthood.

Depression can make us do regrettable things. Kagayaki honestly felt both relieved at his newfound habits and ashamed that she had allowed him to slip so.

She had begun to block out a majority of her days. Following on autopilot and not really taking note of anything. She realized it had become a problem when she tuned in just in time to see Masamune plunge himself balls deep into some woman that she was fairly certain they had never seen before. When she felt a crow pecking at ears, she immediately knew what was happening.

She decided to say nothing. She curled into a small a ball as she could and made sure the other spirit knew that she did not welcome it. The sense of repulsion leeched into the other and the night ended fairly quickly.

Neither of them spoke about that night.

Once again, she found herself changing to suit his needs; a vulture to shield him from the rain if he was caught without an umbrella, a horse to carry the workload, a jackal to maintain a sense of camaraderie with Nigai.

At night however, she detached from him in every way except physically. She let him play whomever he wanted to. He brought men and women a like to their dorm, trying his best to fill the void that had been growing gradually since high school.

She didn't let herself get caught up. If he brought someone over, she'd shuffle over to her cushion, curl up and block out everything. The other spirit would usually nose or mouth at her body, push her in an attempt to replicate whatever they humans were doing; she never moved.

As more time passed, she started taking appreciation in Masamune's habits.

The smoking and the drinking served to benefit her. Smoking meant short breath, drinking meant a heavy hangover; both meant that he couldn't go sniffing for some late night hussy to bring back.

It turned into a ritual that she absolutely despised, but put up with so her human could take his own measures to handle his emotions.

She ended up ruining it one night and she considered it to be something she should have done right from the get-go. Though she could without the pain…

She had been sleeping or was at least trying to. She no longer entertained the notion of being okay with this and decided that if she ignored it, she could move on with as normal a life as she could.

She felt herself being nudged roughly. There was power behind it, which didn't really make sense since she could vaguely recall Masamune bringing home a girl with woodpecker spirit. She decided it was cramp and blocked out the sound of heavy breathing and squeaky bed springs.

She was nudged again; this time with, with enough force to push her off of her cushion. She entertained the notion of staying unresponsive, but when she heard heavy clomping across the floor, drowning out the sound of her human reaching completion and what sounded like a different voice from what she remembered; she decided to figure out what the hell her human had brought home.

She still could not believe her eyes.

She had put up with a lot in the time he had taken up this hobby. She had ended up sharing her personal space with rats, roaches, birds, slugs and on one specific occasion, a snake and she had not said anything to him about who he was bringing home.

But when she woke up to say a jackass, a literal WILD ASS; nosing at her with a nose and teeth full of she didn't even want to know.

It ended up being the straw that broke the camels back.

She made a sound; she didn't even know what it was. But the donkey reared backwards, hit his head and walked away with a slash over his face.

Kagayaki chased him and his hussy human out and made sure they knew not to come back.

Then she turned to her human.

The resulting argument would be sealed in her memories forever.

" I know you are hurting, but this is not the way to go about this!"

"I don't care! Don't talk to me like you know how I feel!"

"Masamune, please! They didn't just leave you, I feel it too!"

"Shut-up! If you feel the same as me, then why are you so calm about this!?"

"Masamune…"

"You don't care about anything that's happened, just like how you don't care about me! So let me handle this my way, while you do as you always have done and worry about yourself!"

He threw something at her, and it hit her in the head. She growled at him in warning. He tried to kick her and when it connected, she roared.

She remembered biting him and then running to the bathroom and shutting the door with a slam that should have at the very least, broken the frame.

She snarled at nothing and snapped at the air. She walked back and forth, sometimes jumping off the walls.

She felt her limbs twisting and she seized violently. She slammed her head on the tile floor and the corner of the sink. Miraculously, she did not give herself a concussion.

But she kicked at the door over and over again. Not breaking it, but clawing off several strips of paint.

She screamed and tore at her head, that was when she started smelling blood and felt a bit of physical, external pain.

She passed out.

She woke up on the bathroom floor. Toiletries had been strewn about and if it wasn't shredded, it was crushed. Her body felt heavy and the fur around the crown of her head felt stiff and crusted with something.

She stood on four legs, her paws bore resemblance to a bears, but they were much smaller. She took note that she was larger than a raccoon, but not so large that maneuvering would be difficult. She took a step and felt shards under her foot, pieces of the broken mirror.

She looked down and saw a weasel- like face starring back. She had blackish brown fur, small round ears and dark eyes. Her right ear was torn and the fur below it was crusted and dark with dried blood. She looked behind her and saw amidst the chaos, red smears on the linoleum.

She stood on her back legs shakily and twisted the doorknob with both paws.

It was day; she had locked herself away the whole night. The room was trashed, the bed sheets were in ribbons, the chairs turned over and her cushion was a mess of fabric and stuffing.

Sitting in the middle, with one hand over his eyes and an empty can of beer in the other, was the human that she had always tried to protect.

But would look at them now.

Walking was painful, but she trundled over to him carefully. When she was next to him, she was huffing softly. He peeked at her through his fingers and after a couple seconds of eye contact, she laid down with her back to him.

"I'm not going to change again."

Yokozawa started a short-lived relationship with Masamune, Nigai attempted to do the same with Kagayaki and she did not speak for several years.

Life continued, as it always did.

They changed workplace after workplace, discovered what they wanted to do with their lives and attempted new, healthier relationships.

They never lasted… Nobody could be who they wanted, not even Yokozawa and Nigai.

During their birthday, a rare one where Yokozawa and Nigai could not make it, she decided that one wait should end.

He sat on a bench, she sat in the snow, and both watching the white flakes fall and settle. Both used to the silence that persisted when they were alone. She listened to the silence, to his breathing, to the small clicks of snowflakes hitting the ground.

"…happy birthday…" She whispered quietly. She could tell from the increase in her heart rate that he had heard her, but he still didn't say anything. He just reached down and ran his hand down the thick ruff around her neck.

The Emerald department was in shambles when they started working there. The hard work revitalized them both and soon, it became apparent. The company flourished, quality increased and soon, every discovered that the infamous Masamune Takano's spirit did in fact have a voice and she demanded no less than he did.

Life took some semblance of contentment, she laughed, she worked, she yelled when writers missed deadline or made easily avoidable mistakes. She might not be able to change, but she could still put her intimidating appearance to use.

She began keeping a magnifying glass around her neck in a pink ribbon, using it to examine the fine lines of spirit characters and providing second opinions to Masamune when necessary.

She never forgot though. She didn't forget starting point, she didn't forget the road there, and she did not forget the greatest love of her life.

She straightened books, examined content and slept on cushion under Takano's desk. She heard the arrival of a new worked.

She stuck her head out from under the desk, took note of the green-eyed brunette and noticed the sleepy face peeking out from the inside of his workbag.

Kagayaki (輝き)=Glow, Shine

The Wolverine, also known as the skunk bear or carcajou, is the largest member of the weasel family. Despite it relatively small size, it is powerful! It can take down moose and deer and has been known to give bears a run for their money. Yet, this animal can also be very family oriented as fathers will sometimes visit their cubs and mother. As a spirit guide, the Wolverine represents someone who can be a bit rough around the edges, but also has a sensitive and caring side. After reading that, I immediately thought of Takano.