Part one; Her story – It's a curse

Even to this day, I'm not sure why we kansen of the Sakura Empire have almost magical traits. Take me for example, I am of the kitsune format. Though having the enhanced hearing that comes with these ears is wonderful, sleeping on my back can be extremely painful after many hours thanks to my collection of six fluffy tails. But there are times when these powers are more of a curse, and it's one I've never shared with anyone, not even Amagi or Kaga. I can see the red strings of fate tied around each of their fingers. Most of those strings don't go anywhere, sometimes they lead to another kansen, and sometimes they lead out to the ocean.

One morning, however, after our last Shikikan was transferred out. I woke up on my back after Kaga had left for the day. My dark brown hair splayed all around me as I lifted my right hand to look at my red string as I ask, "I wonder where you lead?"

Putting my hand back down I sit up letting my blanket fall around me as I stretch and rub my lower back where my tails attach. Taking a moment I arrange my long hair to cover my front as I get out of bed and go about dressing myself; it'd only been ten years since I had been given this body. After all that time I had grown to like the feeling of clothing against my skin, but I didn't fully understand why male humans seemed so lost for words around me or were often looking at my chest. I didn't hate them for it, but I didn't like them for it either. Still most of the time, their eyes were always on my tails.

Once I was fully clothed, I spent some time brushing my tails, I hated it when they would look unsightly. But something just felt different, I just felt like making my tails presentable was more important today. Putting my brush down, I checked myself one last time in the mirror, before looking down at the string on my right pinky finger after that I left the dorm room that I shared with Amagi, Kaga, and Tosa.

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Walking down the hall, of the dormitory, many of the other kansen of the Sakura Empire bowed their heads to me, as they should; I am Akagi of the First Carrier division after all. And yet, down the hall, I can see my nemesis, Shoukaku. Amagi is always telling me to play nice with her, yet I find it extremely hard to do most of the time. Perhaps I will actually try to do such today, I mean something just feels different about today after all.

As I get close to her, I bow my head a little as I greet her in the words of our homeland, "Good morning Shoukaku, I trust today is greeting you well?"

I notice that this seems to put her out of sorts as it takes her a moment to recover from me being pleasant and not dismissive of her for once. She bows, returning the greeting without any of her trademarked snark, and allows me to pass without another word being said. Once I'm outside, facing towards our docks, I look down at my right hand and see that my red string isn't leading out to the water, rather I see that it's leading into the air. It's moving back over the dorm, with a sigh I head inside the dorms. I'm more curious about this and start to follow it through the dorm so that I can catch back up with it out the front.

As I follow the string, it leads me out the main doors of the Sakura Empire Dorms and into our quarter of the base. I must look silly to those around me, following an invisible string. I was so wrapped up in following it; I missed walking directly into my elder sister, Amagi. As I bounce off of her, her purple eyes look me up and down, her eyes always look so warm, but I know that they are hiding her shrewd intelligence. She smiles at me and asks so directly, yet entirely indirectly, "Something on your mind, sister?"

I can never hide anything from Amagi, I look down and nod as I admit, "Yes, sister."

Her head tilts to the side as one of her fox ears twitch, I know she's trying to read my actions and I get confirmation when she says, "You see something, something I can't see, don't you?"

I feel my cheeks get hot and I nod as I say, "Yes, sister."

Her features change to a smile and she says to me, "Be sure to tell me about it later."

"Of course." I say with another bow to her, once she is gone, I continue following the string.

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I had walked all over the base, following this string. From the Sakura dorms right to the airfield, my red eyes went wide as I followed it with my eyes right to the right hand of a tall man with short light brown hair in a green uniform and a tan hat of some kind that I didn't recognize. I look to his rank badges, expecting to see the gold bands of the Eagle Union, rather, I see a crown. On his hat, I see crossed blades and leaves with a crown over the top of them.

It was like he sensed me looking at him, as he stopped talking to some other human, looked up, and then his green eyes landed on me for an instant before he returned to the conversation he was having. But had seen it in his eyes, he was used to being the apex predator where ever he was. The way he carried himself told me more about him, his movements were controlled, practiced, and were made with intent, it left me wanting to know why I was tied to him.

From around the corner of the control tower, I watch him move off out of the airfield. I do my best to follow him through the base, the entire time he's moving with such precision, no wasted motion. And again, I am wondering why? Not long after he seemed to sense me this last time he enters the command center.

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I just stood outside, waiting and trying to figure out if I could figure out a legitimate way to head inside that building to try and get another glimpse of him. Time seemed to tick by and I felt a chill run along one of my tails, I know that chill, rain is going to come soon. I move and sit under a tree and look up to the base commander's office, I can't see in because the curtains are closed, but I know he's in there, the string is going right up to it. I felt like I sat there, under that tree for a while before I saw Amagi exiting the building, her head tilted to the side when she saw me and came over, sitting beside me before she asked, "What brings you to the command center, sister?"

I look down at my hands before I look at hers, her string doesn't go anywhere, doesn't even leave her finger, just wraps around it. I shake my head a couple of times before I say to her, "Curiosity."

Amagi gave me a sideways look and said, "As they say in the Eagle Union, sister, curiosity killed the cat."

I shrug while I slip my hands under me and look back up at the window as I say, "It is a good thing I am not of the cat format like Fusou then."

I rarely hear Amagi giggle, but she lifts a hand up under her chin and was giggling at my choice of words. After a moment she touches my shoulder and says, "Be mindful of other's secrets, sister, sometimes people keep them for a reason."

I tilt my head to the side as I ask, "He is keeping secrets?"

She sighs and looks down before saying, "We all do, sister." I was about to say something when she patted me on the shoulder before she got up and added, "I will see you at home, later."

As she started to walk away, I noticed that she left her umbrella and I call out, "Amagi, you forgot this!"

She looks at me over her shoulder and smiles and says, "No I didn't, you're going to need it later."

I blink my eyes a couple of times and I start to wonder if she can see into the future. I mean I know that Kaga can make a spirit fox serve her in battle, I can see the red thread of fate, and Amagi well, she is seldom wrong. Not long after she was out of my sight, then the rain started, with a sigh I put up the umbrella and went back to looking at the window

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I spent what felt like hours outside of the command center before my ears twitched drawing my attention back to the window just as our new commander opened the curtains to look outside. I lock eyes with him for a moment before he closes them up again. I sigh inwardly and start to wonder if I should just head back to the dorm I share with my sisters. Just as I start to head in that direction, I hear the door open to the command center and I see him starting to hurry down the stairs, a bag over his head. I tilt my head to the side and I ask, "Did you sense me, Shikikan-sama? Akagi sensed you when you landed."

His head tilts to the side and he asks, "Aren't you Akagi?"

I nod as I confirm to him, "Akagi, is Akagi, Shikikan-sama."

I watch as he blinks a few times before he puts a hand under his jacket and takes out a paper and asks me, "Do you know how to get to this address?"

I look at the words written on it and nod as I say, "It is Shikikan-sama's dwelling, Akagi will show you the way."

As the two of us start to walk, I move the umbrella to cover the two of us and he swings down his bag, I take another look at his green uniform, with the colorful ribbons on it as well as the rank badges, I'm not familiar with them so I ask, "I have not seen a green naval uniform before, I-"

"I'm not Navy." He says to me, his tone controlled and I can sense from him that I may have asked something sensitive.

He sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose before saying, "I can't talk to you about where I served or which branch I served in, but I can tell you I am from the Maple Monarchy."

My brow knits together for a moment as I try to place which nation that was. If I recall correctly they have close ties to both the Royal Navy and Eagle Union, but they didn't have a lot of kansen. After a moment I ask him, "Have you spent much time with kansen before, Shikikan-sama?"

He gives me this sideways look, his blue eyes narrowed a little and he says, "Enough time."

His tone of voice made my tails shiver, it was very cold. Sadly we didn't speak again until we reached his quarters and he spoke, "Thanks for guiding me here, I'll try to return the favor at some point."

I was about to say something, but he slung his bag over his head again and hurried inside, on the back of his bag I saw a very strange symbol with a half globe, half leaf with an upward pointed dagger between the two halves. When I looked at it, I felt a chill run down my spine, and I wanted to know if Amagi might know anything about it.

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Later I was pacing around my quarters, thinking about our new commander, something about him seemed familiar to me, but I know I'd never seen him before. Perhaps it was simply because the red string of fate was tied between myself and him. I run a hand through my hair just before I hear Amagi ask, "Akagi, why are you pacing?"

"I saw our new Shikikan." I say to her as I look at my right hand and the red string tied to it.

"And?" asked Tosa as she sipped from a saucer of sake.

I shrug my shoulders, responding offhandedly, "He was attractive and I am sure that he sensed my presence."

"Is that all?" came the voice of Kaga before she took in some rice from her bowl.

I tilted my head towards my Kaga, ever the dismissive of things other than proving her strength. With an obsession like that, I wondered just how strong she actually is. I was about to say something more when Amagi spoke up, "Be cautious in your dealings with him, Akagi."

I spin on my heels to look at my older sister and I pressed her for details, "Do you know something you are not sharing?"

Amagi put down her chopsticks, looking at me with her purple eyes, I could see the sorrow in them and she said simply, "It is not my place to share what I know."

I wanted more information but she got up from the table, bowed, and said, "Thank you for the meal."

As she left the room, I followed her outside and watched as she sat by the koi pond, I took a seat beside her and asked, "Amagi, dear older sister, what is wrong?"

She shook her head before smiling at me as she said, "I just do not want to see you get hurt is all." She placed her left hand on my right hand and admits, "Sometimes I get flashes of things to come, but I do not see what happens between then and now. I know you are headed down a path that could end very badly for you."

I look down, my ears drooping forward as I say to her, "I know you want what is best for me sister, but the future is not set in stone."

"Very true, I do not know how this path will end for you, only that it could end badly." She said, pausing to embrace me before adding, "But I will be here to support you on it."

I squeeze her tightly before I whisper, "I will do my best to make you proud of me."

Amagi lets go of me, leaning back slightly as she smiles and says, "You always have. Now let us turn in for the night, I imagine Major White is going to have us rather busy tomorrow."

I smile back and look up to the stars as I say to her, "You go ahead, I'm going to look at the stars for a little longer tonight."

Once Amagi had turned inside I lean back a little and wonder just why the gods have tied me to this Major White.

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A/N: I know this is a short chapter, but when you combine it with Red String; His Story it actually makes for a longer chapter. For this story, I intend to keep this format, writing it from both sides in their own tales with the intent for the reader to read both.