Chapter Ten- Regret

Kazuya quietly went downstairs in the early morning hours of Tuesday to get something to eat. Dinner had been another quiet one, but Shiori had seemed happier. He surmised that his son had talked to her. He knew he couldn't keep Kokoda away from Shiori or Shuichi forever as he adored both of them.

He went to the refrigerator and got some cheese out. He nibbled on it as he went to get some water. He heard something as he filled the glass: It sounded like a whine; a sound he identified as a canine whine and it was coming from the living room. Curious, he went to investigate.

He went into the living room to find the sound was coming from Shiori and it was clear that she was having a nightmare. In addition to the whines, her face was twisted in pain and fear, her ears were pinned back, she was clutching the pillow, and her tail was twitching. He saw tears streak her cheeks as she whined again. He felt his heart break at seeing his wife so distressed. He crouched in front of her and shook a shoulder. "Shiori. Wake up. Come on."

Her eyes snapped open and she sat bolt upright with a gasp. She looked around frantically and was aware of the tears on her face. She quickly wiped them away before her wide eyes focused on Kazuya. She took a shuddering breath as she buried her face in her hands and said in a whisper, "Oh, God. Another nightmare."

"Another?" he repeated. "You had some before?"

"Just one other and it's about the same thing," she said still in a whisper. "I dream the one who took me was abusing and raping me again."

"What!?" Kazuya gasped, getting Shiori to look at him. "He had hurt you and raped you?"

Shiori nodded. "He wanted me for a mate even though I told him I was married. He was determined to have me."

Shiori was now sitting up and Kazuya sat beside her. He put an arm across her shoulders and pulled her closer so her head leaned on his upper arm. He reached around with his free hand and took one of her hands.

"Shiori, I am so sorry about how I acted. It was such a shock and I remembered the stories of demons eating humans."

"Fox demons don't eat humans," she said softly. "But some do. I may be a demon in body and I may act like a fox one at times but inside I am still human."

"Yes. Yes, you sure are." He kissed her forehead. "Can you forgive me?"

"Of course. I was rather distant with Shuichi when I was told the truth. It took me a little time to accept and love him again."

"It took me seeing you having an awful dream to make me realize how heard this was for you and how much I love you."

"It was hard and I was horrified when I was first changed, but in Yoko's company, I grew used to it." Shiori smothered a yawn.

"Come on. Let's head upstairs and get some sleep." He pulled the black fox to her feet and led her upstairs where the couple snuggled as they slept the rest of the night away.

Despite school being closed, Kurama rose early. He wanted to hear what Kokoda and Shiori had said and ask if she would like to work on getting their powers to work in synch or tandem. He dressed quickly and came down to see his mother slipping on her shoes. She turned and smiled happily. "Good morning, Kurama."

"Good morning," he replied, a little confused.

Shiori smile grew bigger, intuiting her son's confusion. "Kazuya apologized last night, well early this morning technically. I had another nightmare and it broke him down."

"That's wonderful," he said as said man came down, kissed Shiori, and left to wait for her in the car. "Mother?" he asked as she cast her illusion. "Could we maybe practice our powers today?"

"Love to." She kissed Kurama's cheek as she left. Kurama smiled. His true nature had been revealed to his family and they had ultimately accepted it. Shiori then became a demon and she learned to adapt to it and get the family to accept it. Acceptance. It is a trait both humans and demons have. It is in both of our natures.

The ground heaved and cracked as a large boulder was thrusted up into the air. There was a crack and it split into shards that were then hurled through the air with the snap of a whip. The shards pierced a tree trunk and stuck there. Shiori panted from forcing the rock up out of the ground but managed a satisfied smile at her son.

"Very good, Mother," he said approvingly.

"It wasn't easy," she admitted. "As I used most of my energy for my illusion."

"I anticipated that." He reached into a bag to extract two bottles of water before opening one. He removed a seed from his hair, crushed it, and sprinkled it into the open bottle before closing it, shaking it, and handing it to Shiori. "The seed will help restore your energy."

She shook her head as she opened the bottle. "You are just unbelievable. I guess being a thief taught you to plan for anything." She drank some water and could indeed feel her energy coming back.

"Only those who have the patience and calm would plan out the theft. That was something Yomi never learned until he went blind." Kurama took a drink from his bottle.

"Kurama," she said slowly. "Cho was hired by Yomi to kidnap me for the purpose of killing you. Suppose he plans another attempt on your life?"

"He likely would try again. Obviously he will not send assassins to attack me as I would dispatch them quickly and having one threaten your life to get me to yield will not work either, especially now."

"This might be the demon in me talking, but killing him would solve the problem," Shiori said.

"Yes, that is your demon side talking and yes, eliminating Yomi would solve the problem, but he is one of my oldest friends and I dislike killing outright. I prefer killing in self-defense. I only hope that he ceases attacking though I wish I knew why he had chosen to do so when we had parted on good terms earlier."

I feel he's killed while stealing and becoming my son has changed his view on taking another's life. His killing of Cho was done out of love for me. Shiori then tensed as a stench reached her nose. Before she or Kurama could act, a demon seized her arms and pinned them back with one hand while he put the claws of his other hand to her throat. "Don't move, demon traitor, or her death will be on your- ack!" That last word came as a result of a rock coming out of his back. He staggered back from the female fox and sat down, hands over the hole in his body; Shiori deliberately made sure it wasn't a fatal hit.

Kurama seized a piece of grass and turned it into a blade that he put to the demon's throat. "Talk," he said in a tone that promised death if he kept silent.

"Yomi sent me!" the demon said quickly. "He suspected that Cho failed and sent me to kill you by threatening the woman."

"Foolish," Kurama said. "As if I would not train Mother in her powers." He knelt down and used a number of healing herbs to undo the damage. "Listen. You will go back to Yomi and tell him you killed the woman but I survived."

The demon bobbed his head as he got up and ran. Shiori looked at Kurama, confused. Why tell the demon to lie to Yomi? "Kurama?"

"I believe Yomi has gone too far," he said in a cold, angry tone. "I have a plan and I would like your assistance, Mother."

"What do you have in mind?"

"Yomi's other senses are exceptionally sharp to compensate for his blindness but he can be caught off guard. It is possible that he does not know that you are a demon now. If you were to distract him by posing as an assassin or bounty hunter, I may be able to kill him. You are welcome to help insure I succeed."

"I would be happy to. Shall we prepare my outfit so I look the part?"

"Yes and you may want to tell Father that you need time off."

"I do not think that will be a problem." The two foxes headed inside to fine-tune the plan and put together Shiori's outfit for their counter strike against Yomi.