WORLD OF DARKNESS: THE SECOND AGE OF MAGIC
FIRST SCROLL
NURTURING WATERS
8 Days Later
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After the episode in her former employees mansion, Hikari couldn't rest fora long while. The days seemed to grow into eternity as she lay awake and thought about how she had been used, deceived. All the years of her existance, all her experience hadn't let her see the truth, hadn't let her see past the curtain of deception.
Or had she let herself be fooled...?
Another night settled over the city when Hikari first stepped out of her home. Sparkling eyes stared off into the darkness of the starless night, searching for answers that weren't to be found. Though her beauty was still stunning to behold, she was a mere shadow of herself. She hadn't fed for days as she had sat motionless at home, letting the events pass before her minds eye again and again.
Over 200 years and still so naive...?
200 years in which she had seen deception, had been subject to all kinds of deceivers and tricksters. People who had wanted to get her power, her attention or her body. She had been able to look through most of them, slowly developing a sense for the truth and the powers that her undead state gave her only strengthened that perception.
Yet she had been fooled again...
A warm breeze picked up and played through her hair softly, touching cold flesh, oblivious to any sense from outside at the moment.
She was weak, she knew that and still she couldn't bring herself to hunt. Something blocked her. Maybe the image of all those dead body...the dead children was still too fresh in her mind. Or maybe it was the look of grief on the features of the Kitsune.
Kaze...
The Kitsune who had showed her the truth...
The Kitsune who had been able to feel real grief for these children, feelings so strong that Hikari wished, like so often before, that she could again feel such feelings and be it only dread. But she was deprived of that priviledge.
The strongest feeling came from the hunt, the thrill of being the predator...
And the sapping of chi...
The theft...
How she envied Kaze for being able to feel the passions of feelings, the turmoil of emotions.
The essence of life...
But she wasn't alive and thus, she was not to enjoy that priviledge.
Her eyes slowly focussed on the buildings around her, the people who walked past, slowing down to get a good look at her, men and women alike. Their eyes were filled with admiration, envy, lust when they looked at her perfect figure, almost divine beauty.
But what was beauty without passion?
She shook her head quietly and began to wander down the road aimlessly. For the mortals she was an extremely beautiful female, a sight to behold, a girl to fall in love with immediately.
For any supernatural being, she was weak, her reservoirs of energy almost dried up from the many days spent without feeding.
An easy target...
---
The temple maiden bowed politely, answering the greeting by the gentleman who had brought the starving child and was still inquiring about her health. Kaze Kuromori left the last temple where he and the vampire had brought the last survivor to the atrocities in Nakamura castle.
He had informed Lord Tenryu, who presided over the Court of the Ten Thousand Tents, just outside Edo, and had managed to convince the old Middle Dragon to sponsor the children into a life of righteousness. During the nights, a fellow Kitsune sorcerer and a Hakken shaman had slipped into the temples and used the gifts the spirits had bestowed upon them to restore the children's health... and to get any information on what had transpired inside the castle.
Kaze walked among the throng of Edo's night residents, who were marveling at the gaslight that had been installed mere months before after proving their efficiency in Kyoto. So, the night had ceased to be the exclusive province of thieves, scoundrels, thugs and prostitutes, something Kaze regretted a bit, since he was one of the scoundrels.
"Hey, boss." A beggar called to him. The Kitsune, now dressed in elegant yet not expensive clothes, turned and recognized one of his informants, part of the Go-en network he'd labored to build over the decades and spanned most of Asia.
"Taking a bath doesn't mean just dunking your head in the river." Kaze replied with a chuckle, handing a coin to the dirty man.
"That's funny, boss, really." The beggar's irony was unmistakeable. "I found the lady you were looking for."
"You did?" Kaze hadn't expected results this soon. He wanted to thank the Kuei-jin for her help, something he'd forgotten to do amid his outrage.
"Yes, anyone wit that kinda looks ain't that hard to track down, once you know what to look for, eh?" The beggar chuckled. "What a sweet thing, boss! Stole your heart, did she? Finally met the lady to do that."
"She just has it on lease." Kaze teased back, tossing a white lie to humor the beggar and keep their professional relationship at the friendly level. "So, where is she?"
---
Hikari stumbled on someone, she'd been edging along the street aimlessly, her mind wandering and trying to keep her attention on each step she was taking and not minding anything else. She must be walking near the night district, judging from the sounds of raucous abandon. She'd have found it easy to hunt here, her beauty baiting any drunken and overconfident male into her parasytic embrace.
But she wasn't making the effort, for in every face she encountered she found a kaleidoscopic display of human emotion. She stopped, just standing there. Her age and experience allowed her to tap into ambient Chi, or to steal it from her victim's breath, but it was only when she drank the life-energy from the blood of mortals that she felt close to being alive, and she wasn't in the mood for drinking.
"And what is such a pretty girl like you doing in a place like this... and looking like -that-?" Someone asked.
She snarled, ready to bat away the drunken man whom she'd been sparing from her feeding tonight. But the angry retort died in her throat when she met the eyes of the man addressing her. She saw eyes almost as old as hers, but which hadn't lost the twinkle of joy found most often in children and madmen. They were fox eyes.
"Kaze...?"
"Kyusenko-dono." He bowed politely, his robe rustling softly against his hakama. "If I may say so, but you are a mess."
"You... you don't say..." Hikari curled her perfect lips in mocking, better to hide her surprise at stumbling on the Kitsune.
"You've been hard to find, for such a pretty lady as you. May you grant me the honor of walking by my side?"
"I'm busy at the moment."
"Aaaaaah." The young-looking warrior appraised the surroundings. "People-watching. Mh hm... interesting."
"What I do is none of your business." Hikari withdrew a step. The fox was irradiating everything she wasn't: full of life, and the joy of it. It almost hurt.
"You can't tell that to the likes of me and expect to be left alone, Kyusenko-dono." He grinned. "And unreadable as you are, I have experience in reading crowds, and you were the only one without an apparent purpose so I ask of you..."
And he kneeled and touched his forehead to the ground; the people stopped by Hikari's looks now stopped to watch, what to their eyes must seem a rather pathetic confession.
"S-stop doing that!" Hikari looked around her, noting all the attention.
"Pleeeeeease, oh pleeeease, walk with me!" The kitsune rose only slightly, hands clasped together and a ridicuoulously exaggerated expression of pleading.
"Go away!" She shushed him; she wasn't ashamed for the show he was making of himself, but she was worried that it might attract the wrong attention. "Oh, right! I'll go! Now stand!"
Kaze stood with one short jump, looking radiant.
"Thank you, Kyusenko-dono!" He beamed at her.
Kaze stepped forward and stopped, looking back... by actually bending backwards, to confirm she was following. His hair was a wild tangle tonight, unlike the night they'd met when it was slickly combed back. The kuei-jin shook her head and followed next to him, a minor affront to social custom that demanded women to pace behind men when walking together.
"You are weak." He said more seriously now, and in a much lower voice. "How long since you fed?"
There was a true tone of concern in his words. Hikari remained silent.
"That long, eh?" He said in answer to the girl's silence. "Come; I promised to pay your next visit to the bath house, and I'm a man of my word... that's why I seldom give it."
He smiled, such an easy gesture for him. Kaze surprised himself by his worry; normally, he'd care less if a vampire was low in his stolen Chi reservoirs, for it meant it hadn't stole it from someone, or somewhere. But after reviewing how readily Hikari had run to his aid when rescuing the children, and her attempts to comfort him, he was seeing this vampire in particular as much more than just a Chi-sucker. And he yearned to watch the Yang infuse her body; right now, the energy of death was stronger, giving her a pale and drawn cast, yet her stunning beauty remained. Her kimono was loosely tied on purpose, letting the chest flaps move with her every step to show the skin beneath. If he didn't know her, he'd have believed her a rogue prostitute advertising her wares.
"A bath?" The girl asked, in disbelief.
"Yes!" He nodded. "I know this bath house, pretty neat, belongs to a friend of mine. It's a bit in the outskirts of the city, but it's very relaxing... and built on top of a dragon track." He whispered the last part. "You will regain your strength by just soaking in the water. You'll feel better... and I promise not to sneak in!"
Hikari stared at the fox disbelievingly still. A bath? That was what he had to offer at a time like this? A fox offering a chi-sucker like herself a kind of date?
It was a strange thing, stranger still than the cooperation between the two. Cooperation happened when a common foe arose, but never had she heard of a Kuei-jin cooperating with a Hengeyokai and tell of any other meetings afterwards. But this Kitsune had followed her, had sought her out to do just that.
To meet her again...
Her gaze traveled over the Kitsune quietly and she tried to decide what to do. The two of them were so different and he reminded her of everything she wanted to be, but could never be again. His mere presence almost tortured her, every twinkle of the eyes, every jovial smile. Yet still she found the attention he gave her pleasing. She found the concern in his voice flattering and was surprised to hear such concern from a shapeshifter. She craved for such feelings towards her and those two parts inside her now struggled against each other.
One part won...
"All right, but I swear if you DO peak in on me, it'll be your last peek!" she murmured and nodded quietly.
"Great!" Kaze smiled an honest smile, glad that this Kuei-jin accepted his offer. Nudging her lightly, he indicated a way down the road and Hikari slowly began to follow him.
Her lack of strength was visible in her every moves. If it hadn't been for the fact that she was a killer, a predator and a demon, she would have awakened pity in almost anyone. No mortal could see the loss of elegance in her moves, doubly so since no one had seen her in action like Kaze had.
Back in the mansion she had moved with unearthy grace, her steps and her attacks filled with a beauty beyond human comprehension. What seemed even more appealing than her stunning beauty was the charisma she had radiated in that night. An aura of elegance, grace and sadly death as well.
She was the predator in perfection, claoked in the body of a beauty queen and Kaze's supernatural eyes had seen every ounce of strength in her moves, the strength grown from centuries.
And now it was gone, having made way for deathly precision. Though the outer beauty remained, the inner beauty had been dimished.
Hikari stayed quiet while they walked, not speaking a word out of her own accord. She was still trying to find an answer to the question why this Kitsune obviously had taken an interest in her that went beyond trying to find her weak spots.
Once in a while she looked at him from the corner of her eyes, admiring the life in his steps, the emotions he radiated with every second, longing to feel those emotions inside herself or to be part of them at least.
Part of her was repulsed by this, her dark inner self, creeping at the edge of her perception, trying to find a possibility to take control of her. The demon lurked as always, at the moment stronger than ever, due to her lack of energy. But she kept it tightly under control, not wanting to hurt the strange shapeshifter who had helped her see the truth and now even seemed to be concerned for her.
People passing them made way for the strange couple, the eyes of women and men alike drifting to both of them, admiring Hikari for her beauty and Kaze for his luck to have such a woman beside him. Little could they know that they were natural opposites, natural enemies really. Little did they know about the inner voices telling both of them to get rid of the other better sooner than later.
But for the moment, they both kept the voices down and instead focussed on their interest in the other. Both told themselves that it was to find out why the other had acted the way he or she had during their last encounter.
Hikari wanting to find out why the Kitsune had searched for her even after the mission...
Kaze wanting to find out why the Kuei-jin had shown true concern and gentleness when he had been so enraged...
But would they ever find out?
The kitsune walked with a swaying gait, amused by both Hikari's doubts and his own. He'd seen her in combat, and he was sure she would best him in a direct confrontation, but his breed wasn't known for being fierce warriors, that was the wolves' job. No, his way of the warrior lay more in infiltration and trickery, deception and illusion. And he was good at reading others, be them humans or shen.
So he could read the confusion in the deadly beauty walking beside him; her silence spoke to him against her will, and the mere fact that she hadn't fed since their battle in the Nakamura mansion lay in the open more things than she surely wanted to reveal.
Had she been a mortal woman, he'd have put an arm around her shoulder in assurance, but as he could read her struggle, his mystical senses picked up on the demon waiting just below her surface. So he contented in being there.
"Ah, here we are!" They'd been walking in a field road just out of the last city gate, so the lights from the city were clearly visible. The gates to the mansion they reached were wide open, with the wooden sign marking its purpose lit by flickering and floating lights.
"What magic is this?" Hikari wondered, not wanting to squander her meager Chi reserves to determine the lights' source.
"Fireflies." Kaze smiled. "They are Kim-chan's friends; she's the owner of this place."
Hikari followed the kitsune inside, and entered the most beautiful garden she'd seen in her whole immortal life. The cultured gardens found in nobles' mansions had nothing on this one: they were artificial, the nature coaxed into achieving shapes to please human eyes. No, this was nature growing by itself, achieving a harmony and perfection no human gardener... no, no gardener at all, would ever hope to achieve.
Paper lanterns hung from posts along the narrow winding road, guiding night visitors across two bridges into the warmly lit house. Hikari could hear gentle laughter inside. For some strange reason, she was afraid to go in.
"Kim-chan! She's with me! You can lift the wards!" Kaze shouted.
"Since when you keep the company of the dead?" A petite woman, barely older than Hikari's apparent self, appeared in the middle of the last bridge that separated them from the house. A silk chinese dress clung to her slim figure, and her every move radiated magic. The embroidered dragon in the dress seemed to move. She wasn't as beautiful as Hikari, but she had a preternatural air about her that made her irresistible.
"Kim Yi Hwang, this is Hikari Kyusenko; she assisted me in the Nakamura incident." Kaze introduced both girls, then whispered to the kuei-jin. "Be careful; she's way older than both of us put together."
"Why would a Kuei-jin assist you?" The girl, now with her chinese features fully under the lamps light, put her hand on her hips. Her hair was held in twin buns in typical chinese fashion.
"Her reasons are her own, Kim-chan." Kaze winked. "Suffice to say that I alone wouldn't have been able to get those children to safety, nor defeat the Yomi spirit we ran into. She's my friend, and she comes to this house by my invitation."
Kim's frown was cute beyond words. "Right, Silent-Chuckling-Wind. But she can't feed on my guests."
"I swear..." Hikari started an apology.
"You may come in, Kuei-jin, and by Silent-Chuckling-Wind's invitation, you may absorb the Chi from the pools. But you will leave when he does." The owner of the bath house interrupted. "And you, old fox; I don't want to hear the ladies complaining about missing towels!"
"I shall leave the towels alone. And the buckets. Soap too." The kitsune bowed with his hands over his head.
"Fine." The girl straightened. Then her form blurred and turned watery, and she sank in the pond beneath the bridge. Hikari's apprehension disappeared.
"She's Shinma; a water nymph to be precise." Kaze explained as he lead the way. "Enjoy your bath."
He smiled and bowed courteously when they reached the reception, the curtains with kanjis for "men" and "women" dividing their way.
A few minutes later, Kaze relaxed in the hot bath, listening idly to the conversations around him. Few shen were allowed to enjoy the healing and nurishing pools of this bath house. The Shinma had built it specifically for mortals, and no envoy from the Beast Courts or the Qincunx had ever secured rights for its members to enter; only individual shen could win the right by their deeds. Nobody defied the wards of the messengers of Heaven.
He looked at the bamboo wall that separated the women's from the men's area of the hot pool. His grin had "trouble" written all over it; after all, he'd only promised not to mess with the utensils.
He rose and grabbed a towel, walking out while wrapping the towel around his body hanging from the chest, in the fashion of a female. He invoked the gifts of the Deer-spirits and walked right in. Nobody paid any attention to him, nobody gave him a second glance. He just blended in by the illusory powers of the kitsune, and everyone thought he was just a woman taking a bath. He stepped into the water, admiring the naked bodies around him, and settled on a corner of the pool, a silly grin on his face.
A grin that disappeared completely when he spotted what he had really come to look. Hikari.
Immersed in the nurturing waters of the Shinma bath house, she had lost the pallor of death that hung about her earlier. She had absorbed Yang Chi, and it gave her flesh the rosy color of life. He gulped, unable to take his eyes from her. She was perfect.
He forced himself to remain in that corner, hidden and unnoticed. He also forced himself to remember she was undead. But his heart pulsed faster when at one point she rose from the water to take a cup of sake offered by the house's attendants. He closed his eyes, but the glitter of the water dripping from her skin remained with him, and reminded him of her soft voice and luminous smile when she had tried to calm his rage.
"She is dead." He told himself. "You saw the monster she turned into. You've -seen- her Demon."
"Be careful, Silent-Chuckling-Wind." Kim materialized next to him, also unnoticed by the rest of her clients. She glared at him. "I should have extracted you the promise not to cross to this side; I was careless."
"Yes." Kaze was grateful for the distraction. He and Kim had shared a bed once, so her glamour body didn't impress him so much this time. His fickleness and her fluidity helped them to remain friends.
"She's from Yomi; nothing good will come. Leave her be."
"There is a kind soul battling the demon." He answered. "You'd have to be there to see it."
"Maybe." Kim nodded, only the part of her body out of the water being material. "I trust your wisdom, but do heed my warning."
"You have my thanks for your concern." Kaze talked to the dissipating form of the Shinma, then resumed his quiet admiration.
Hikari enjoyed herself quietly, letting the magical energies flood her body and soak into her every pore. For long moments she just sat back in the water, eyes closed, her head resting lightly on the towel that should really conceal her body at least a little. But as all Thrashing Dragons, she liked to shock and with the energies of life returning to her her true nature also returned and after a few moments in the water she had undone the towel and placed it behind her as a pillow. She enjoyed the rather shocked glances from the other women, shocked paired with envy and jealousy, admiration and even attraction.
Quietly, she thanked the keeper of this place to have let her in and she also thanked Kaze for trusting her enough to vow for her.
Another piece adding to the puzzle in her mind. Of course, she had the nagging thought of the fox sitting somewhere spying at her even now, but to her surprise and slight amusement it didn't disturb her at all. She almost wanted the fox to wander in here and lay eyes on her body and to watch the reaction on his features, in his eyes.
She wondered what the reactions would be. He was a living being and she knew from experience that all living beings had difficulties controlling themselves when encountering this beautiful femme fatale. Even Hengeyokai, knowing what she was, had difficulties turning their gaze away from her and none of the supernatural beings had yet seen her completely naked.
A light, playful smile tugged at her lips and made her features, if possible, even more angelic.
The Demon in Angel's clothing...
She shook her head lightly and reopened her eyes gazing around the bath, looking at the women present. As rare as her beauty was, even moreso was her attitude towards it. Most others with a comparable appearance she had met, had always had a high-and-mighty attitude, a ego, bolstered by their appearance.
Not so Hikari...
She still admired the beauty of others where she could, maybe due to the fact that she thought most mortals more beautiful than herself for the life in the flesh was theirs and not stolen like her own.
But at the moment, she didn't think about such things. Instead, she only enjoyed these moments of peace, granted by the bath. Even the demon had withdrawn to a comfortable silence, not having any possibility to break her control in this scenery of peace and life.
Her thoughts wandered to the owner of the place, the woman they had encountered at the entrance. Closing her eyes a moment, she activated her chi-sight to look around the room with a little more detail and marvelled at the source of Yang this bath presented.
And then her eyes settled on the disguised Kaze.
She noticed the flicker of magic around the figure she had initially thought to be simply another woman.
A playful grin came to her lips again and her eyes sparkled softly.
She would have bet all her years of existance that this was the Kitsune. She knew that the Kitsune had powerful illusionary and trickster magic, enabling them to sneak into almost all kinds of places and since the keeper of the place had only forbidden him to mess with utilities, she doubted the Kitsune would have passed the chance to steal away into the women's bath if he had a way to do it.
True to her nature, her playful mind surfaced and she decided to give the Kitsune another thing to think about.
She slowly rose out of the water. When she had reached for the cup of Sake earlier, she had still been clothed in the small towel, but now her body was completely exposed to view, every inch of creamy white skin, soft dribbles of the clear water running over the perfect, slightly darker nipples and between her small but firm breasts.
Her black hair, though short was plastered to her head in a very, very cute way and her lips had retained the full color of beautiful crimson.
When she crossed her legs to sit at the edge of the pool, her gaze returned to the shapeshifter, a sort of friend to her, she thought.
Her eyes twinkled as her lips formed the words. "Well? Like it?"
Kaze almost destroys the illusion by laughing loudly; the trick to this magic was remaining still and unnoticed, but Hikari had seen through his disguise and if he answered, he'd reveal himself to a horde of angry women.
So he sunk below the waters, and gave her a thumbs up that slowly sank too.
When he exited the women's area, he was invisible.
Minutes later, other men were surprised at the quantity of cold water Kaze was pouring on himself.
---
Hikari left the women's area with a sense of satisfaction, her kimono had been washed and dried, and was ready when she left the pool. She'd copied the style of chinese dresses and her kimono sported twin slits starting at the hips to show off her legs when she walked, and she took special care to keep the upper part unsecured, so it shifted and folded suggestively. She'd never felt better in a long time.
She couldn't help but smile crookedly when she met with Kaze at the entrance. Apparently, the owner of the bathhouse was berating him for something, but the nymph shut up as soon as Hikari walked within earshot.
"You have my gratitude for letting me enjoy your pools." Hikari bowed lightly.
"Well, don't expect to be let in again." The chinese shen frowned again. "You'll have to earn your right to return; the eyes of Heaven are everywhere, I will know when you're worthy."
Kim's features softened a little. "You have a good start with this lout vouching for you, but don't start getting any ideas."
Hikari bowed again, and was greeted in return.
"Again, my thanks."
"May the August Personage of Jade help you fight your demon." The nymph answered.
So they walked out of the house, and again into the preternatural garden that now seemed more alive, or maybe it was that Hikari felt replenished that she finally noticed. They walked slowly and in silence, enjoying the serenity of the garden.
"We are taking more time to get out." Hikari noted the road was more winding and twisting than when they had entered.
"Are you in a hurry?" He smiled. "The garden changes for every client; it's not a dragon nest, but the spirits here are commited to their task: bringing serenity. That's why every shen who knows of it comes, and that's why the Shinma restrict access. It's one of Heaven's gifts to humans."
Hikari enjoyed the soft whisper of night insects. "Thank you." She whispered.
"You look so much prettier when you're content." He chuckled.
"Oh, do I?" She smiled and leant her back against a bridge's railing, separating the chest flaps of her kimono.
The kitsune laughed and leant opposite her, on the other side of the bridge.
"You almost got me there." He said nonchalantly.
"Then I'll have to make a better effort next time." The kuei-jin teased.
"Indeed." The kitsune jumped effortlessly and crouched on the railing, with great balance. "You're a beautiful Yang creature, Kyusenko-dono. I am pleased to have met you."
"Don't be so sure about that." Hikari's tease had a hint of tragedy to it; part of it was that for the first time, she felt flattered by such a comment.
"Leave that to my own fox-judgement." He stood on the railing, getting a much better view of Hikari's cleavage. He looked up at the sky, sorting out his intentions towards this creature of the night. He wasn't an astrologer, so anything the stars might be trying to tell him was falling on deaf ears.
He finally jumped down, close to her. "Come one; let's go downtown."
"What for?"
"People-watching is much more enjoyable with a full belly and some sake at your side." He winked. "Besides, you intrigue me, and the night is young."
"Are you always so direct?" Hikari straighened, entering his personal space and taking in fully the light of his eyes and the warmth of his demeanor.
"As much as I'm always in a good mood."
---
The drinking parlor was almost fool, and it had taken a bribe for them to get a good booth that kept them out of view, but allowed them a good look at the other patrons and also to the street outside.
"See that guy." Kaze pointed at a man laughing and pawing a concubine. "He works in the government, petty official. No life beyond these walls and those of his office.
"How do you know?"
"I robbed him blind once. Some trade papers were copied while he was in here." He chuckled. "I never showed up for our 'date'."
"Excuse me?" Hikari blinked.
"You see him with that woman 'cause he's with his coworkers, but he's more into pretty young men."
Hikari chuckled at the false coyness he assumed. For a night, she was alive; this shapeshifter was helping her achieve the ambition and vice of all Thrashing Dragons. His laughter feeding hers, his interest awakening hers, his apparently open trust reaching deeper than a thousand masterful deceptions.
Kaze kept himself busy with his anecdotes; as a Kitsune, he had many, or he wouldn't have advanced to be a Three-Tails to the eyes of heaven. And his mouth gave his brain some time to think and evaluate his situation. It was still hard to believe that the winged and clawed monster that splattered the goblin spider across the room at Nakamura's mansion was this beautiful girl. Only her haunted eyes gave a clue about the shadow hovering around her soul.
And he discovered he enjoyed bringing a smile to her lips. The kitsune were the youngest children of Gaia, and part of their role was to spread the enjoyment of that youth to others; they weren't Gaia's laughter like the fabled Nu-Isha, but many enjoyed such a role. Kaze, despite being a warrior, was one of them.
And despite the excellent stamina of all hengeyokai, the sake was strong, and it was going to his head, enough not to realize what his hand was doing until it was too late, and the kitsune surprised himself leaning towards Hikari and pushing a lock of hair out of her face.
Hikari was stunned as well; she'd been looking at another man whom they were speculating about, and almost jumped back when she felt the warm proximity of Kaze's hand, but she didn't move, and let the fox run a finger around her face as he pushed her ruffled hair aside.
"Why?" She asked finally after a long pause in which both shen looked at each other.
"Just because." He answered, grinning and downing another cup of alcohol. "Now, there was a time when I..."
His words became a blur in Hikari's mind; she was just drinking on the emotion behind the voice.
Hikari listened, but not to the words of the Kitsune in front of her. She listened to the emotions and also tried to figure out what was happening between the two of them.
Something had creapt up between the two, especially the almost touch of Kaze earlier, the nearness of his skin when he had brushed that lock away.
Her gaze fixed on his eyes and never strayed, soaking up what he emitted, bathing in his emotions and pondering if and how to return them. Should she return his advancements?
She couldn't!
She was a chi-sucker, a demon, almost his natural enemy, yet here they were, drinking together as though they were good friends or maybe even more.
Friends?
When was the last time she could have called someone friend?
Was Kaze a friend?
She didn't know, couldn't point her finger at the right answer. The two facets of her soul raged to reach a different conclusion, but for the moment, she was more human than beast. And for the moment, she was too much alive to listen to the demon's suggestions.
As Kaze talked, she smiled still, the Kitsune's words bringing happiness to her dead soul, his presence enlighting her softly.
She didn't know how things could have grown so fast, developed so easily. She didn't even know why she was here, accepting the invitation.
Though deep down inside she knew.
She craved for life and the Kitsune presented her that. His words, his gestures and movements radiated his energy and she wanted to immerse herself with it.
And that also was a point the demon inside her was putting his clawed finger on.
Immerse herself with his energy...
Take a light sap from his chi...
She didn't have to kill him...just taste a few drops of his wonderful essence.
NO!
She shivered inside, though outwardly she had herself perfectly under control. Just the eyes betrayed her inner battle.
Kaze saw the battle and could second-guess what the battle was about. He knew on what Kuei-jin lived and he also knew that shapeshifter essence was doubly so good for them.
And still he didn't turn away from her...
Why?
Here they sat, over 400 years of experience in life and unlife meeting and both of them couldn't even find the answer as to why they liked each other and why they were here, together.
Hikari for herself fought the idea of sapping from the Kitsune violently. She didn't want to betray the trust he placed in her, not after all he'd done for her. His kindness and his entire way of behaving appealed to her, to her human side.
And she wanted that human side to prevail...
But ultimately, could she refuse if he offered?
---
Kaze was caught in the storm behind those pretty eyes. She was smiling, and that was a refreshing change from the mask of rage back in the mansion, and even the teasing and seductive smile at the bath house. She looked like a teenager with the body of a goddess.
In the kitsune's mind, several bells were warning loudly. This has happened before, they said. You've gotten out unscathed until now, and these one has sharp claws.
Yet the foggy haze of the sake helped him silence the alarms. He was a creature of passion and instint, as most of the shapeshifters were, and both were pushing him towards the exquisite vision seating across him. His eyes saw the haunted woman who wanted to be alive, yet couldn't. Mighty as she was, she lived in fear of herself.
He'd met few Kuei-jin, and all of them reveled in their undead state. This one revered life.
"Kyusenko-dono..." he broke one of the silences that had been cropping up more frequently now.
"Hikari..." She whispered. "Call me Hikari."
He nodded with a smile.
"Light..." He traced the meaning of her name in the air. Writing was an important part of kitsune magic, and maybe the kuei-jin didn't realize it, but tracing the kanji in the space between them infused her image with the power of her name, to Kaze's eyes.
"And you?" She asked.
"Wind." He traced his name. "Wind of the Black Forest".
Hikari chuckled with the irony that she, a creature of darkness, should be named after the light, and he, a creature of vibrant life, would have such an ominous name.
"How did the bath house owner call you?"
"Silent-Chuckling-Wind". He honored his tribename by chuckling. "It's how I'm known among my people. It's a pretty formal thing; just call me Kaze-kun."
"Kaze..." She leaned forward, showing a generous amount of flesh that this time was truly unintentional. "You barely know me... you've seen what I am and what I can do, yet I've never... received such kindness."
The undead girl flinched when he took her hands. He made a weak attempt to wrest them free, but he held her fast. He raised her hands to her eye level, and gently opened one and showed them her own fingers.
"When you see your hands... what do you see?" He asked.
"Blood." She cast her gaze down, but he pushed her chin up with his other hand.
"I see beyond these hands and into your eyes."
Hikari wasn't sure if his face, between her fingers, was blurry because she was focusing on her hand, or because she had remembered how to cry.
"I believe..." He folded her fingers, enclosing her small, deadly hand within his own. "That the girl I saw at the machinery room is deserving of kindness, she needs the help to fight against the demon I saw in the concubine's room, and I'm willing to help her."
Hikari felt her P'o whisper; 'let me speak', it said; 'I can have him dancing in our hand, and his precious essence can be ours.' She shook her head involuntarily, and snatched her hand from Kaze's hold.
"Aw, come on; I may not match your beauty, but I'm not -that- ugly!"
The sheer absurdity of his comment made Hikari pause, the voice of the demon quieted also. She found herself smiling. She was hungry, but not in the normal sense of the undead; she yearned for his energy, not born from Chi, but from an even higher recess in his soul.
"Hikari... I know what you want... only the August Personage of Jade may grant that, but I can offer you a taste."
"Ka-Kaze... you don't know what you're offering..."
"And you don't understand my offer." He pointed in mock accusation. "Walk with me; I live in a world where the spirits of life talk and answer to your prayers. I move with the flows of Yang, even if my breed is comfortable with Yin. I move in shadows, but my missions are for the name of light."
"I want you to be my companion." He finished.
The Kuei-jin could see the fox's cheeks reddened from the alcohol, a state she was hard pressed to emulate, even when aspected to Yang. Maybe it was that that compelled him to ask her that.
He saw her hesitation and smiled mischievously. "Breathe of my breath."
"I shouldn't..." She said.
"Don't breathe of my life-essence, but of the spirit energy within me." He leaned closer to her. "You can drink Yin Chi and you can drink Yang Chi, but in this you will taste that which fuels the chosen of the Emerald Mother, and understand what I'm asking you to help me protect."
Hikari succumbed, the temptation, her craving, the offer and his invitation were too much for her. She closed in, her mouth approaching his. She wouldn't drink his blood, for that wasn't what he had offered, so she took a sharp intake of breath. Was it stealing to take what was freely offered?
It was like the song of birds in the deep forest, like the wind brushing her hair and the sun caressing her face. Lying in the middle of a meadow, feeling the power of thunder in an overcast sky, and knowing how each of those parts of nature were alive, and welcomed her. All that and none was the taste of the kitsune's magic.
Kaze felt his Gnosis be taken, its Yang-aspected energy bubbling out of him through his mouth and into hers. The kitsune are children of passion, and when that passion wakes, it simmers. Kaze felt the frenzy approach, the need to run for no good reason, but he fought it, he had offered his spiritual strength, right? But the departure of his Yang was awakening all his visceral reactions in its passing, sending the few scraps of reason he listened to to the five directions. Anger, joy, fear, love, rage, happyness...it was all happening at the same time.
Hikari stopped herself. She was infinitely grateful to the fox for letting her taste what it was to be alive again, but she hadn't even closed her mouth when Kaze pressed his lips to hers. Still drunk from the sensation of living, she only closed her eyes.
Only when they separated did she understood what had happened. It was always like this when she stole Yang Chi; her victims lost control to their own passions.
Kaze was reeling, he was dizzy beyond drunkenness, the alcohol only a minor contribution to his light-headedness. He stared at Hikari.
"I... apologize." He bowed his head. "I don't know what came over me..." He coughed and cleared his throat; recovering his jesting nature, he winked. "But my offer was not an excuse to taste of your lips; it still stands."
Hikari trembled inside and at this point also outside. The energy of shapeshifters was infusing her very being and more than that, the emotionality and the entire situation played into the picture, creating a mixture of hope, shock, life and death. Everything the two presented and sought after seemed to merge for a moment as the moment stretched into eternity.
His companion...?
Was he serious about this? Did he even know what he was asking, what he was getting himself into. She knew by now that he was clever, intelligent, but he was emotion driven, too and were his words driven by reasoning or by feelings?
She couldn't know and actually, she didn't want to know.
All she currently thought about was that he had indeed asked her. The first living being who wanted to be with her for more than just a night, who wanted more than just her body. He knew what he was gambling towards, but still he wanted her by his side.
"I...." she whispered slowly and this was one of the few moments where she was short of words. How to answer?
Inside she tried to see clearly, tried to organize the turmoil into something she could decide upon, but all she achieved was realizing that for one time, her P'o and her nature wanted the same. She didn't know if that was good.
The Demon had his own reasons to want her to accept, knowing that so many possibilities to deceive and destroy would creep up. Her nature wanted her to accept because it would give her endless possibilities to advance on her path towards her goal.
So could she really refuse?
She knew the answer even before her mind realized the full impact this decision would have on her life.
"I...would be honored...to...be your companion..." she whispered quietly and slowly lifted her gaze and let her eyes pierce his.
It was a magical moment, shared by two supernatural beings. Something grew stronger between them, something invisible, but more powerful than any rope or chain could ever be. Slowly, time lost its meaning for this special moment, the sounds and movements around them seeming to slow down as they lost themselves in the others gaze.
Both knew there was a dark cloud looming over them...
Both knew that their destiny would be to suffer should they really chose this path...
Both didn't care at this moment...
Kaze's head was still feeling as if his brains were suspended in cotton, so he just let his body take over for a while. He smiled warmly and took Hikari's hands. Such public displays of affection were looked down by society, but neither of them were wholly part of it.
Her hands were suffused with life energy, and they felt warm to the touch, so he let his thumbs explore the silky texture of her skin.
"My thanks..." He said, simply.
Hikari's reflex was to withdraw from the touch, but she surpressed this reflex and instead let him do what he wished with her hands. The skin was next to perfect, as was everything on this undead beauty and she watched Kaze with quiet eyes that were so full of turmoil.
And of course, some mischief twinkled there...
"What? That's all? I agree to become your companion and I get a simple 'My thanks?'" she said with a quiet, light voice and her fingers suddenly squeezed his.
Kaze laughed.
"Sorry; that's more or less what my brain can handle at the moment." He grinned, and looked down at the smooth alabaster he was holding. Again, he raised her hands so they both leant closer to the center of the table, and to each other.
He stared at her eyes; the fox had stared at many eyes, reading what he could for his own purposes, but this time he was just looking serenely at the troubled depths of Hikari's.
"Don't..." she whispered, averting her eyes slowly, though not leaning away from him. "Don't look into my eyes. You...you can see what I really am in there...and I can see it mirrored in your eyes..."
Why? Why was she so weak at the moment? She felt almost like crying, something she hadn't done for many...many years, something she had thought impossible to happen again.
But the feeling was there.
She was afraid of rejection. Because if he rejected one part, he'd sooner or later grow tired of just half a girl, too, no?
Kaze was awash with a sensation he hadn't felt in almost a century: tenderness. He knew she was old, her eyes didn't hide from him her real age, yet she was acting like the young girl she looked like.
He cocked his head and twisted it in an odd angle to follow her fleeing gaze.
"Hikari... I already know what you are." He whispered, his neck leaning sideways. "I may be a little drunk, but do you think I'd ask what I did without full knowledge of what I was getting into...?" He straightened and blinked. "Don't answer; we foxes have a bad reputation for doing exactly that..."
Hikari shifted a bit but still didn't look up. She looked much like a little girl who knew she had done something wrong and was ashamed of admitting it, but she wasn't a little girl.
She was a well over 200 year old, supernatural being with powers beyond human's imagination. Even her words could be lethal and here she sat, ashamed, sad and hopeful at the same time.
"But do you realize what it means for us?" she whispered quietly. "I...I mean you...you deserve someone who can return your appreciation and your feelings, someone who can give you everything you want as your companion."
He took his hand from hers and searched inside his robes, pulling out a sheet of snow-white paper. He began folding, winking at her from time to time, until he presented her with an origami dragon; it's serpentine form twisting and shifting as he pulled it from its extremes.
He gave it to her, smiling all the way.
She gazed at the dragon quietly and didn't do anything for a long while. Her eyes took in the form of the dragon, the milky white paper and the beast, the two worlds colliding.
Then slowly, she reached forward and took it.
Again, she looked up to Kaze and her eyes mirrored her words clearly.
A simple, yet not so simple question.
"Why...?"
"Because you need it." He answered. "If you consider yourself such trouble, then remember that foxes are attracted to trouble."
He poured more sake into both their cups.
"I can give you ten thousand explanations, one for each creature and thing under Heaven, and all of them would sound hollow because your heart will hear them that way." He shrugged and took a sip. "I can't explain it as much as I can quote the entire Laws of Heaven and how many of them I've broken."
He smiled wider still, lost into the lost expression in HIkari's face. "You speak of finding someone who can give me everything I want... that is never the case; you give and take, hoping that what you give will please the other, and what you take is freely given. There are no rules."
He leaned closer to her while he spoke, whispering the last word milimeters from her lips.
Hikari inhaled the scent of the shapeshifter in front of her and took in his features silently, not moving an inch as he talked.
When he was so close to her, she felt something...
Something she hadn't felt before when around Hengeyokai and she realized it was trust...
"No rules..." she whispered quietly, her words coming slow and silent.
"But what if I hurt you...I...don't want to hurt you..." she said, still not decided, still struggling to find the right way, the correct path.
"Unless you kill me, I will always recover." He answered, also with his eyes, not moving either and speaking in a soft murmur. "Shed your worries about the future and the past, for it is today that you're here, and today that you must choose a path."
Kaze's own couple of centuries of life were an accumulation of experiences. He wouldn't tell Hikari yet, but he'd been married twice, and some of his descendants still toiled the land or walked the streets of some city or another. He knew about the risks of tying two destinies together, and he had no regrets; he'd do it again.
But this time he'd do it with a Kuei-jin. An immortal Demon, forever bound to live with the torment of two souls, of a Demon trying to gain control.
It was a risky gamble and Hikari knew it, but she couldn't deny the feelings inside her and the happiness she felt when thinking about the possibility of being his companion. She couldn't deny that it was a way to advance on her own path towards being more human than monster.
And she couldn't deny that it would give the Demon inside her millions of possibilities to act and hurt Kaze.
But still...
She closed her eyes and thus denied Kaze the insight into her thoughts.
But she answered him.
She leaned a little bit more forward and that was enough to let their lips meet.
The second time this evening, but this time it was a soft, tender kiss from lips of unnatural sweetness and purity, a kiss laden with centuries of longing and desire. All placed into the tenderness of one, small kiss.
The kitsune played with a lock of her hair while the kiss lasted, and let his fingers run across her face when they both straightened. A silence fell between them, but it was a comfortable one, the kind that is not an absence of sound but rather just another form of expression. Kaze's eternal smile was now one full of understanding and contentment. He said nothing, letting his hand speak about the centuries he was willing to spend guiding her soul towards a higher state.
Slowly, she let the silence pass and a soft smile tugged at her features as she watched him and the implications of his gestures and words sunk in deeply, creating a warmth inside her she had thought forgotten.
Her eyes glittered lightly in the pale light and she was content for the moment. Happy to have made this decision. Happy to be here, with Kaze.
And happy to still be in this world for maybe the first time.
FIRST SCROLL
NURTURING WATERS
8 Days Later
------------
After the episode in her former employees mansion, Hikari couldn't rest fora long while. The days seemed to grow into eternity as she lay awake and thought about how she had been used, deceived. All the years of her existance, all her experience hadn't let her see the truth, hadn't let her see past the curtain of deception.
Or had she let herself be fooled...?
Another night settled over the city when Hikari first stepped out of her home. Sparkling eyes stared off into the darkness of the starless night, searching for answers that weren't to be found. Though her beauty was still stunning to behold, she was a mere shadow of herself. She hadn't fed for days as she had sat motionless at home, letting the events pass before her minds eye again and again.
Over 200 years and still so naive...?
200 years in which she had seen deception, had been subject to all kinds of deceivers and tricksters. People who had wanted to get her power, her attention or her body. She had been able to look through most of them, slowly developing a sense for the truth and the powers that her undead state gave her only strengthened that perception.
Yet she had been fooled again...
A warm breeze picked up and played through her hair softly, touching cold flesh, oblivious to any sense from outside at the moment.
She was weak, she knew that and still she couldn't bring herself to hunt. Something blocked her. Maybe the image of all those dead body...the dead children was still too fresh in her mind. Or maybe it was the look of grief on the features of the Kitsune.
Kaze...
The Kitsune who had showed her the truth...
The Kitsune who had been able to feel real grief for these children, feelings so strong that Hikari wished, like so often before, that she could again feel such feelings and be it only dread. But she was deprived of that priviledge.
The strongest feeling came from the hunt, the thrill of being the predator...
And the sapping of chi...
The theft...
How she envied Kaze for being able to feel the passions of feelings, the turmoil of emotions.
The essence of life...
But she wasn't alive and thus, she was not to enjoy that priviledge.
Her eyes slowly focussed on the buildings around her, the people who walked past, slowing down to get a good look at her, men and women alike. Their eyes were filled with admiration, envy, lust when they looked at her perfect figure, almost divine beauty.
But what was beauty without passion?
She shook her head quietly and began to wander down the road aimlessly. For the mortals she was an extremely beautiful female, a sight to behold, a girl to fall in love with immediately.
For any supernatural being, she was weak, her reservoirs of energy almost dried up from the many days spent without feeding.
An easy target...
---
The temple maiden bowed politely, answering the greeting by the gentleman who had brought the starving child and was still inquiring about her health. Kaze Kuromori left the last temple where he and the vampire had brought the last survivor to the atrocities in Nakamura castle.
He had informed Lord Tenryu, who presided over the Court of the Ten Thousand Tents, just outside Edo, and had managed to convince the old Middle Dragon to sponsor the children into a life of righteousness. During the nights, a fellow Kitsune sorcerer and a Hakken shaman had slipped into the temples and used the gifts the spirits had bestowed upon them to restore the children's health... and to get any information on what had transpired inside the castle.
Kaze walked among the throng of Edo's night residents, who were marveling at the gaslight that had been installed mere months before after proving their efficiency in Kyoto. So, the night had ceased to be the exclusive province of thieves, scoundrels, thugs and prostitutes, something Kaze regretted a bit, since he was one of the scoundrels.
"Hey, boss." A beggar called to him. The Kitsune, now dressed in elegant yet not expensive clothes, turned and recognized one of his informants, part of the Go-en network he'd labored to build over the decades and spanned most of Asia.
"Taking a bath doesn't mean just dunking your head in the river." Kaze replied with a chuckle, handing a coin to the dirty man.
"That's funny, boss, really." The beggar's irony was unmistakeable. "I found the lady you were looking for."
"You did?" Kaze hadn't expected results this soon. He wanted to thank the Kuei-jin for her help, something he'd forgotten to do amid his outrage.
"Yes, anyone wit that kinda looks ain't that hard to track down, once you know what to look for, eh?" The beggar chuckled. "What a sweet thing, boss! Stole your heart, did she? Finally met the lady to do that."
"She just has it on lease." Kaze teased back, tossing a white lie to humor the beggar and keep their professional relationship at the friendly level. "So, where is she?"
---
Hikari stumbled on someone, she'd been edging along the street aimlessly, her mind wandering and trying to keep her attention on each step she was taking and not minding anything else. She must be walking near the night district, judging from the sounds of raucous abandon. She'd have found it easy to hunt here, her beauty baiting any drunken and overconfident male into her parasytic embrace.
But she wasn't making the effort, for in every face she encountered she found a kaleidoscopic display of human emotion. She stopped, just standing there. Her age and experience allowed her to tap into ambient Chi, or to steal it from her victim's breath, but it was only when she drank the life-energy from the blood of mortals that she felt close to being alive, and she wasn't in the mood for drinking.
"And what is such a pretty girl like you doing in a place like this... and looking like -that-?" Someone asked.
She snarled, ready to bat away the drunken man whom she'd been sparing from her feeding tonight. But the angry retort died in her throat when she met the eyes of the man addressing her. She saw eyes almost as old as hers, but which hadn't lost the twinkle of joy found most often in children and madmen. They were fox eyes.
"Kaze...?"
"Kyusenko-dono." He bowed politely, his robe rustling softly against his hakama. "If I may say so, but you are a mess."
"You... you don't say..." Hikari curled her perfect lips in mocking, better to hide her surprise at stumbling on the Kitsune.
"You've been hard to find, for such a pretty lady as you. May you grant me the honor of walking by my side?"
"I'm busy at the moment."
"Aaaaaah." The young-looking warrior appraised the surroundings. "People-watching. Mh hm... interesting."
"What I do is none of your business." Hikari withdrew a step. The fox was irradiating everything she wasn't: full of life, and the joy of it. It almost hurt.
"You can't tell that to the likes of me and expect to be left alone, Kyusenko-dono." He grinned. "And unreadable as you are, I have experience in reading crowds, and you were the only one without an apparent purpose so I ask of you..."
And he kneeled and touched his forehead to the ground; the people stopped by Hikari's looks now stopped to watch, what to their eyes must seem a rather pathetic confession.
"S-stop doing that!" Hikari looked around her, noting all the attention.
"Pleeeeeease, oh pleeeease, walk with me!" The kitsune rose only slightly, hands clasped together and a ridicuoulously exaggerated expression of pleading.
"Go away!" She shushed him; she wasn't ashamed for the show he was making of himself, but she was worried that it might attract the wrong attention. "Oh, right! I'll go! Now stand!"
Kaze stood with one short jump, looking radiant.
"Thank you, Kyusenko-dono!" He beamed at her.
Kaze stepped forward and stopped, looking back... by actually bending backwards, to confirm she was following. His hair was a wild tangle tonight, unlike the night they'd met when it was slickly combed back. The kuei-jin shook her head and followed next to him, a minor affront to social custom that demanded women to pace behind men when walking together.
"You are weak." He said more seriously now, and in a much lower voice. "How long since you fed?"
There was a true tone of concern in his words. Hikari remained silent.
"That long, eh?" He said in answer to the girl's silence. "Come; I promised to pay your next visit to the bath house, and I'm a man of my word... that's why I seldom give it."
He smiled, such an easy gesture for him. Kaze surprised himself by his worry; normally, he'd care less if a vampire was low in his stolen Chi reservoirs, for it meant it hadn't stole it from someone, or somewhere. But after reviewing how readily Hikari had run to his aid when rescuing the children, and her attempts to comfort him, he was seeing this vampire in particular as much more than just a Chi-sucker. And he yearned to watch the Yang infuse her body; right now, the energy of death was stronger, giving her a pale and drawn cast, yet her stunning beauty remained. Her kimono was loosely tied on purpose, letting the chest flaps move with her every step to show the skin beneath. If he didn't know her, he'd have believed her a rogue prostitute advertising her wares.
"A bath?" The girl asked, in disbelief.
"Yes!" He nodded. "I know this bath house, pretty neat, belongs to a friend of mine. It's a bit in the outskirts of the city, but it's very relaxing... and built on top of a dragon track." He whispered the last part. "You will regain your strength by just soaking in the water. You'll feel better... and I promise not to sneak in!"
Hikari stared at the fox disbelievingly still. A bath? That was what he had to offer at a time like this? A fox offering a chi-sucker like herself a kind of date?
It was a strange thing, stranger still than the cooperation between the two. Cooperation happened when a common foe arose, but never had she heard of a Kuei-jin cooperating with a Hengeyokai and tell of any other meetings afterwards. But this Kitsune had followed her, had sought her out to do just that.
To meet her again...
Her gaze traveled over the Kitsune quietly and she tried to decide what to do. The two of them were so different and he reminded her of everything she wanted to be, but could never be again. His mere presence almost tortured her, every twinkle of the eyes, every jovial smile. Yet still she found the attention he gave her pleasing. She found the concern in his voice flattering and was surprised to hear such concern from a shapeshifter. She craved for such feelings towards her and those two parts inside her now struggled against each other.
One part won...
"All right, but I swear if you DO peak in on me, it'll be your last peek!" she murmured and nodded quietly.
"Great!" Kaze smiled an honest smile, glad that this Kuei-jin accepted his offer. Nudging her lightly, he indicated a way down the road and Hikari slowly began to follow him.
Her lack of strength was visible in her every moves. If it hadn't been for the fact that she was a killer, a predator and a demon, she would have awakened pity in almost anyone. No mortal could see the loss of elegance in her moves, doubly so since no one had seen her in action like Kaze had.
Back in the mansion she had moved with unearthy grace, her steps and her attacks filled with a beauty beyond human comprehension. What seemed even more appealing than her stunning beauty was the charisma she had radiated in that night. An aura of elegance, grace and sadly death as well.
She was the predator in perfection, claoked in the body of a beauty queen and Kaze's supernatural eyes had seen every ounce of strength in her moves, the strength grown from centuries.
And now it was gone, having made way for deathly precision. Though the outer beauty remained, the inner beauty had been dimished.
Hikari stayed quiet while they walked, not speaking a word out of her own accord. She was still trying to find an answer to the question why this Kitsune obviously had taken an interest in her that went beyond trying to find her weak spots.
Once in a while she looked at him from the corner of her eyes, admiring the life in his steps, the emotions he radiated with every second, longing to feel those emotions inside herself or to be part of them at least.
Part of her was repulsed by this, her dark inner self, creeping at the edge of her perception, trying to find a possibility to take control of her. The demon lurked as always, at the moment stronger than ever, due to her lack of energy. But she kept it tightly under control, not wanting to hurt the strange shapeshifter who had helped her see the truth and now even seemed to be concerned for her.
People passing them made way for the strange couple, the eyes of women and men alike drifting to both of them, admiring Hikari for her beauty and Kaze for his luck to have such a woman beside him. Little could they know that they were natural opposites, natural enemies really. Little did they know about the inner voices telling both of them to get rid of the other better sooner than later.
But for the moment, they both kept the voices down and instead focussed on their interest in the other. Both told themselves that it was to find out why the other had acted the way he or she had during their last encounter.
Hikari wanting to find out why the Kitsune had searched for her even after the mission...
Kaze wanting to find out why the Kuei-jin had shown true concern and gentleness when he had been so enraged...
But would they ever find out?
The kitsune walked with a swaying gait, amused by both Hikari's doubts and his own. He'd seen her in combat, and he was sure she would best him in a direct confrontation, but his breed wasn't known for being fierce warriors, that was the wolves' job. No, his way of the warrior lay more in infiltration and trickery, deception and illusion. And he was good at reading others, be them humans or shen.
So he could read the confusion in the deadly beauty walking beside him; her silence spoke to him against her will, and the mere fact that she hadn't fed since their battle in the Nakamura mansion lay in the open more things than she surely wanted to reveal.
Had she been a mortal woman, he'd have put an arm around her shoulder in assurance, but as he could read her struggle, his mystical senses picked up on the demon waiting just below her surface. So he contented in being there.
"Ah, here we are!" They'd been walking in a field road just out of the last city gate, so the lights from the city were clearly visible. The gates to the mansion they reached were wide open, with the wooden sign marking its purpose lit by flickering and floating lights.
"What magic is this?" Hikari wondered, not wanting to squander her meager Chi reserves to determine the lights' source.
"Fireflies." Kaze smiled. "They are Kim-chan's friends; she's the owner of this place."
Hikari followed the kitsune inside, and entered the most beautiful garden she'd seen in her whole immortal life. The cultured gardens found in nobles' mansions had nothing on this one: they were artificial, the nature coaxed into achieving shapes to please human eyes. No, this was nature growing by itself, achieving a harmony and perfection no human gardener... no, no gardener at all, would ever hope to achieve.
Paper lanterns hung from posts along the narrow winding road, guiding night visitors across two bridges into the warmly lit house. Hikari could hear gentle laughter inside. For some strange reason, she was afraid to go in.
"Kim-chan! She's with me! You can lift the wards!" Kaze shouted.
"Since when you keep the company of the dead?" A petite woman, barely older than Hikari's apparent self, appeared in the middle of the last bridge that separated them from the house. A silk chinese dress clung to her slim figure, and her every move radiated magic. The embroidered dragon in the dress seemed to move. She wasn't as beautiful as Hikari, but she had a preternatural air about her that made her irresistible.
"Kim Yi Hwang, this is Hikari Kyusenko; she assisted me in the Nakamura incident." Kaze introduced both girls, then whispered to the kuei-jin. "Be careful; she's way older than both of us put together."
"Why would a Kuei-jin assist you?" The girl, now with her chinese features fully under the lamps light, put her hand on her hips. Her hair was held in twin buns in typical chinese fashion.
"Her reasons are her own, Kim-chan." Kaze winked. "Suffice to say that I alone wouldn't have been able to get those children to safety, nor defeat the Yomi spirit we ran into. She's my friend, and she comes to this house by my invitation."
Kim's frown was cute beyond words. "Right, Silent-Chuckling-Wind. But she can't feed on my guests."
"I swear..." Hikari started an apology.
"You may come in, Kuei-jin, and by Silent-Chuckling-Wind's invitation, you may absorb the Chi from the pools. But you will leave when he does." The owner of the bath house interrupted. "And you, old fox; I don't want to hear the ladies complaining about missing towels!"
"I shall leave the towels alone. And the buckets. Soap too." The kitsune bowed with his hands over his head.
"Fine." The girl straightened. Then her form blurred and turned watery, and she sank in the pond beneath the bridge. Hikari's apprehension disappeared.
"She's Shinma; a water nymph to be precise." Kaze explained as he lead the way. "Enjoy your bath."
He smiled and bowed courteously when they reached the reception, the curtains with kanjis for "men" and "women" dividing their way.
A few minutes later, Kaze relaxed in the hot bath, listening idly to the conversations around him. Few shen were allowed to enjoy the healing and nurishing pools of this bath house. The Shinma had built it specifically for mortals, and no envoy from the Beast Courts or the Qincunx had ever secured rights for its members to enter; only individual shen could win the right by their deeds. Nobody defied the wards of the messengers of Heaven.
He looked at the bamboo wall that separated the women's from the men's area of the hot pool. His grin had "trouble" written all over it; after all, he'd only promised not to mess with the utensils.
He rose and grabbed a towel, walking out while wrapping the towel around his body hanging from the chest, in the fashion of a female. He invoked the gifts of the Deer-spirits and walked right in. Nobody paid any attention to him, nobody gave him a second glance. He just blended in by the illusory powers of the kitsune, and everyone thought he was just a woman taking a bath. He stepped into the water, admiring the naked bodies around him, and settled on a corner of the pool, a silly grin on his face.
A grin that disappeared completely when he spotted what he had really come to look. Hikari.
Immersed in the nurturing waters of the Shinma bath house, she had lost the pallor of death that hung about her earlier. She had absorbed Yang Chi, and it gave her flesh the rosy color of life. He gulped, unable to take his eyes from her. She was perfect.
He forced himself to remain in that corner, hidden and unnoticed. He also forced himself to remember she was undead. But his heart pulsed faster when at one point she rose from the water to take a cup of sake offered by the house's attendants. He closed his eyes, but the glitter of the water dripping from her skin remained with him, and reminded him of her soft voice and luminous smile when she had tried to calm his rage.
"She is dead." He told himself. "You saw the monster she turned into. You've -seen- her Demon."
"Be careful, Silent-Chuckling-Wind." Kim materialized next to him, also unnoticed by the rest of her clients. She glared at him. "I should have extracted you the promise not to cross to this side; I was careless."
"Yes." Kaze was grateful for the distraction. He and Kim had shared a bed once, so her glamour body didn't impress him so much this time. His fickleness and her fluidity helped them to remain friends.
"She's from Yomi; nothing good will come. Leave her be."
"There is a kind soul battling the demon." He answered. "You'd have to be there to see it."
"Maybe." Kim nodded, only the part of her body out of the water being material. "I trust your wisdom, but do heed my warning."
"You have my thanks for your concern." Kaze talked to the dissipating form of the Shinma, then resumed his quiet admiration.
Hikari enjoyed herself quietly, letting the magical energies flood her body and soak into her every pore. For long moments she just sat back in the water, eyes closed, her head resting lightly on the towel that should really conceal her body at least a little. But as all Thrashing Dragons, she liked to shock and with the energies of life returning to her her true nature also returned and after a few moments in the water she had undone the towel and placed it behind her as a pillow. She enjoyed the rather shocked glances from the other women, shocked paired with envy and jealousy, admiration and even attraction.
Quietly, she thanked the keeper of this place to have let her in and she also thanked Kaze for trusting her enough to vow for her.
Another piece adding to the puzzle in her mind. Of course, she had the nagging thought of the fox sitting somewhere spying at her even now, but to her surprise and slight amusement it didn't disturb her at all. She almost wanted the fox to wander in here and lay eyes on her body and to watch the reaction on his features, in his eyes.
She wondered what the reactions would be. He was a living being and she knew from experience that all living beings had difficulties controlling themselves when encountering this beautiful femme fatale. Even Hengeyokai, knowing what she was, had difficulties turning their gaze away from her and none of the supernatural beings had yet seen her completely naked.
A light, playful smile tugged at her lips and made her features, if possible, even more angelic.
The Demon in Angel's clothing...
She shook her head lightly and reopened her eyes gazing around the bath, looking at the women present. As rare as her beauty was, even moreso was her attitude towards it. Most others with a comparable appearance she had met, had always had a high-and-mighty attitude, a ego, bolstered by their appearance.
Not so Hikari...
She still admired the beauty of others where she could, maybe due to the fact that she thought most mortals more beautiful than herself for the life in the flesh was theirs and not stolen like her own.
But at the moment, she didn't think about such things. Instead, she only enjoyed these moments of peace, granted by the bath. Even the demon had withdrawn to a comfortable silence, not having any possibility to break her control in this scenery of peace and life.
Her thoughts wandered to the owner of the place, the woman they had encountered at the entrance. Closing her eyes a moment, she activated her chi-sight to look around the room with a little more detail and marvelled at the source of Yang this bath presented.
And then her eyes settled on the disguised Kaze.
She noticed the flicker of magic around the figure she had initially thought to be simply another woman.
A playful grin came to her lips again and her eyes sparkled softly.
She would have bet all her years of existance that this was the Kitsune. She knew that the Kitsune had powerful illusionary and trickster magic, enabling them to sneak into almost all kinds of places and since the keeper of the place had only forbidden him to mess with utilities, she doubted the Kitsune would have passed the chance to steal away into the women's bath if he had a way to do it.
True to her nature, her playful mind surfaced and she decided to give the Kitsune another thing to think about.
She slowly rose out of the water. When she had reached for the cup of Sake earlier, she had still been clothed in the small towel, but now her body was completely exposed to view, every inch of creamy white skin, soft dribbles of the clear water running over the perfect, slightly darker nipples and between her small but firm breasts.
Her black hair, though short was plastered to her head in a very, very cute way and her lips had retained the full color of beautiful crimson.
When she crossed her legs to sit at the edge of the pool, her gaze returned to the shapeshifter, a sort of friend to her, she thought.
Her eyes twinkled as her lips formed the words. "Well? Like it?"
Kaze almost destroys the illusion by laughing loudly; the trick to this magic was remaining still and unnoticed, but Hikari had seen through his disguise and if he answered, he'd reveal himself to a horde of angry women.
So he sunk below the waters, and gave her a thumbs up that slowly sank too.
When he exited the women's area, he was invisible.
Minutes later, other men were surprised at the quantity of cold water Kaze was pouring on himself.
---
Hikari left the women's area with a sense of satisfaction, her kimono had been washed and dried, and was ready when she left the pool. She'd copied the style of chinese dresses and her kimono sported twin slits starting at the hips to show off her legs when she walked, and she took special care to keep the upper part unsecured, so it shifted and folded suggestively. She'd never felt better in a long time.
She couldn't help but smile crookedly when she met with Kaze at the entrance. Apparently, the owner of the bathhouse was berating him for something, but the nymph shut up as soon as Hikari walked within earshot.
"You have my gratitude for letting me enjoy your pools." Hikari bowed lightly.
"Well, don't expect to be let in again." The chinese shen frowned again. "You'll have to earn your right to return; the eyes of Heaven are everywhere, I will know when you're worthy."
Kim's features softened a little. "You have a good start with this lout vouching for you, but don't start getting any ideas."
Hikari bowed again, and was greeted in return.
"Again, my thanks."
"May the August Personage of Jade help you fight your demon." The nymph answered.
So they walked out of the house, and again into the preternatural garden that now seemed more alive, or maybe it was that Hikari felt replenished that she finally noticed. They walked slowly and in silence, enjoying the serenity of the garden.
"We are taking more time to get out." Hikari noted the road was more winding and twisting than when they had entered.
"Are you in a hurry?" He smiled. "The garden changes for every client; it's not a dragon nest, but the spirits here are commited to their task: bringing serenity. That's why every shen who knows of it comes, and that's why the Shinma restrict access. It's one of Heaven's gifts to humans."
Hikari enjoyed the soft whisper of night insects. "Thank you." She whispered.
"You look so much prettier when you're content." He chuckled.
"Oh, do I?" She smiled and leant her back against a bridge's railing, separating the chest flaps of her kimono.
The kitsune laughed and leant opposite her, on the other side of the bridge.
"You almost got me there." He said nonchalantly.
"Then I'll have to make a better effort next time." The kuei-jin teased.
"Indeed." The kitsune jumped effortlessly and crouched on the railing, with great balance. "You're a beautiful Yang creature, Kyusenko-dono. I am pleased to have met you."
"Don't be so sure about that." Hikari's tease had a hint of tragedy to it; part of it was that for the first time, she felt flattered by such a comment.
"Leave that to my own fox-judgement." He stood on the railing, getting a much better view of Hikari's cleavage. He looked up at the sky, sorting out his intentions towards this creature of the night. He wasn't an astrologer, so anything the stars might be trying to tell him was falling on deaf ears.
He finally jumped down, close to her. "Come one; let's go downtown."
"What for?"
"People-watching is much more enjoyable with a full belly and some sake at your side." He winked. "Besides, you intrigue me, and the night is young."
"Are you always so direct?" Hikari straighened, entering his personal space and taking in fully the light of his eyes and the warmth of his demeanor.
"As much as I'm always in a good mood."
---
The drinking parlor was almost fool, and it had taken a bribe for them to get a good booth that kept them out of view, but allowed them a good look at the other patrons and also to the street outside.
"See that guy." Kaze pointed at a man laughing and pawing a concubine. "He works in the government, petty official. No life beyond these walls and those of his office.
"How do you know?"
"I robbed him blind once. Some trade papers were copied while he was in here." He chuckled. "I never showed up for our 'date'."
"Excuse me?" Hikari blinked.
"You see him with that woman 'cause he's with his coworkers, but he's more into pretty young men."
Hikari chuckled at the false coyness he assumed. For a night, she was alive; this shapeshifter was helping her achieve the ambition and vice of all Thrashing Dragons. His laughter feeding hers, his interest awakening hers, his apparently open trust reaching deeper than a thousand masterful deceptions.
Kaze kept himself busy with his anecdotes; as a Kitsune, he had many, or he wouldn't have advanced to be a Three-Tails to the eyes of heaven. And his mouth gave his brain some time to think and evaluate his situation. It was still hard to believe that the winged and clawed monster that splattered the goblin spider across the room at Nakamura's mansion was this beautiful girl. Only her haunted eyes gave a clue about the shadow hovering around her soul.
And he discovered he enjoyed bringing a smile to her lips. The kitsune were the youngest children of Gaia, and part of their role was to spread the enjoyment of that youth to others; they weren't Gaia's laughter like the fabled Nu-Isha, but many enjoyed such a role. Kaze, despite being a warrior, was one of them.
And despite the excellent stamina of all hengeyokai, the sake was strong, and it was going to his head, enough not to realize what his hand was doing until it was too late, and the kitsune surprised himself leaning towards Hikari and pushing a lock of hair out of her face.
Hikari was stunned as well; she'd been looking at another man whom they were speculating about, and almost jumped back when she felt the warm proximity of Kaze's hand, but she didn't move, and let the fox run a finger around her face as he pushed her ruffled hair aside.
"Why?" She asked finally after a long pause in which both shen looked at each other.
"Just because." He answered, grinning and downing another cup of alcohol. "Now, there was a time when I..."
His words became a blur in Hikari's mind; she was just drinking on the emotion behind the voice.
Hikari listened, but not to the words of the Kitsune in front of her. She listened to the emotions and also tried to figure out what was happening between the two of them.
Something had creapt up between the two, especially the almost touch of Kaze earlier, the nearness of his skin when he had brushed that lock away.
Her gaze fixed on his eyes and never strayed, soaking up what he emitted, bathing in his emotions and pondering if and how to return them. Should she return his advancements?
She couldn't!
She was a chi-sucker, a demon, almost his natural enemy, yet here they were, drinking together as though they were good friends or maybe even more.
Friends?
When was the last time she could have called someone friend?
Was Kaze a friend?
She didn't know, couldn't point her finger at the right answer. The two facets of her soul raged to reach a different conclusion, but for the moment, she was more human than beast. And for the moment, she was too much alive to listen to the demon's suggestions.
As Kaze talked, she smiled still, the Kitsune's words bringing happiness to her dead soul, his presence enlighting her softly.
She didn't know how things could have grown so fast, developed so easily. She didn't even know why she was here, accepting the invitation.
Though deep down inside she knew.
She craved for life and the Kitsune presented her that. His words, his gestures and movements radiated his energy and she wanted to immerse herself with it.
And that also was a point the demon inside her was putting his clawed finger on.
Immerse herself with his energy...
Take a light sap from his chi...
She didn't have to kill him...just taste a few drops of his wonderful essence.
NO!
She shivered inside, though outwardly she had herself perfectly under control. Just the eyes betrayed her inner battle.
Kaze saw the battle and could second-guess what the battle was about. He knew on what Kuei-jin lived and he also knew that shapeshifter essence was doubly so good for them.
And still he didn't turn away from her...
Why?
Here they sat, over 400 years of experience in life and unlife meeting and both of them couldn't even find the answer as to why they liked each other and why they were here, together.
Hikari for herself fought the idea of sapping from the Kitsune violently. She didn't want to betray the trust he placed in her, not after all he'd done for her. His kindness and his entire way of behaving appealed to her, to her human side.
And she wanted that human side to prevail...
But ultimately, could she refuse if he offered?
---
Kaze was caught in the storm behind those pretty eyes. She was smiling, and that was a refreshing change from the mask of rage back in the mansion, and even the teasing and seductive smile at the bath house. She looked like a teenager with the body of a goddess.
In the kitsune's mind, several bells were warning loudly. This has happened before, they said. You've gotten out unscathed until now, and these one has sharp claws.
Yet the foggy haze of the sake helped him silence the alarms. He was a creature of passion and instint, as most of the shapeshifters were, and both were pushing him towards the exquisite vision seating across him. His eyes saw the haunted woman who wanted to be alive, yet couldn't. Mighty as she was, she lived in fear of herself.
He'd met few Kuei-jin, and all of them reveled in their undead state. This one revered life.
"Kyusenko-dono..." he broke one of the silences that had been cropping up more frequently now.
"Hikari..." She whispered. "Call me Hikari."
He nodded with a smile.
"Light..." He traced the meaning of her name in the air. Writing was an important part of kitsune magic, and maybe the kuei-jin didn't realize it, but tracing the kanji in the space between them infused her image with the power of her name, to Kaze's eyes.
"And you?" She asked.
"Wind." He traced his name. "Wind of the Black Forest".
Hikari chuckled with the irony that she, a creature of darkness, should be named after the light, and he, a creature of vibrant life, would have such an ominous name.
"How did the bath house owner call you?"
"Silent-Chuckling-Wind". He honored his tribename by chuckling. "It's how I'm known among my people. It's a pretty formal thing; just call me Kaze-kun."
"Kaze..." She leaned forward, showing a generous amount of flesh that this time was truly unintentional. "You barely know me... you've seen what I am and what I can do, yet I've never... received such kindness."
The undead girl flinched when he took her hands. He made a weak attempt to wrest them free, but he held her fast. He raised her hands to her eye level, and gently opened one and showed them her own fingers.
"When you see your hands... what do you see?" He asked.
"Blood." She cast her gaze down, but he pushed her chin up with his other hand.
"I see beyond these hands and into your eyes."
Hikari wasn't sure if his face, between her fingers, was blurry because she was focusing on her hand, or because she had remembered how to cry.
"I believe..." He folded her fingers, enclosing her small, deadly hand within his own. "That the girl I saw at the machinery room is deserving of kindness, she needs the help to fight against the demon I saw in the concubine's room, and I'm willing to help her."
Hikari felt her P'o whisper; 'let me speak', it said; 'I can have him dancing in our hand, and his precious essence can be ours.' She shook her head involuntarily, and snatched her hand from Kaze's hold.
"Aw, come on; I may not match your beauty, but I'm not -that- ugly!"
The sheer absurdity of his comment made Hikari pause, the voice of the demon quieted also. She found herself smiling. She was hungry, but not in the normal sense of the undead; she yearned for his energy, not born from Chi, but from an even higher recess in his soul.
"Hikari... I know what you want... only the August Personage of Jade may grant that, but I can offer you a taste."
"Ka-Kaze... you don't know what you're offering..."
"And you don't understand my offer." He pointed in mock accusation. "Walk with me; I live in a world where the spirits of life talk and answer to your prayers. I move with the flows of Yang, even if my breed is comfortable with Yin. I move in shadows, but my missions are for the name of light."
"I want you to be my companion." He finished.
The Kuei-jin could see the fox's cheeks reddened from the alcohol, a state she was hard pressed to emulate, even when aspected to Yang. Maybe it was that that compelled him to ask her that.
He saw her hesitation and smiled mischievously. "Breathe of my breath."
"I shouldn't..." She said.
"Don't breathe of my life-essence, but of the spirit energy within me." He leaned closer to her. "You can drink Yin Chi and you can drink Yang Chi, but in this you will taste that which fuels the chosen of the Emerald Mother, and understand what I'm asking you to help me protect."
Hikari succumbed, the temptation, her craving, the offer and his invitation were too much for her. She closed in, her mouth approaching his. She wouldn't drink his blood, for that wasn't what he had offered, so she took a sharp intake of breath. Was it stealing to take what was freely offered?
It was like the song of birds in the deep forest, like the wind brushing her hair and the sun caressing her face. Lying in the middle of a meadow, feeling the power of thunder in an overcast sky, and knowing how each of those parts of nature were alive, and welcomed her. All that and none was the taste of the kitsune's magic.
Kaze felt his Gnosis be taken, its Yang-aspected energy bubbling out of him through his mouth and into hers. The kitsune are children of passion, and when that passion wakes, it simmers. Kaze felt the frenzy approach, the need to run for no good reason, but he fought it, he had offered his spiritual strength, right? But the departure of his Yang was awakening all his visceral reactions in its passing, sending the few scraps of reason he listened to to the five directions. Anger, joy, fear, love, rage, happyness...it was all happening at the same time.
Hikari stopped herself. She was infinitely grateful to the fox for letting her taste what it was to be alive again, but she hadn't even closed her mouth when Kaze pressed his lips to hers. Still drunk from the sensation of living, she only closed her eyes.
Only when they separated did she understood what had happened. It was always like this when she stole Yang Chi; her victims lost control to their own passions.
Kaze was reeling, he was dizzy beyond drunkenness, the alcohol only a minor contribution to his light-headedness. He stared at Hikari.
"I... apologize." He bowed his head. "I don't know what came over me..." He coughed and cleared his throat; recovering his jesting nature, he winked. "But my offer was not an excuse to taste of your lips; it still stands."
Hikari trembled inside and at this point also outside. The energy of shapeshifters was infusing her very being and more than that, the emotionality and the entire situation played into the picture, creating a mixture of hope, shock, life and death. Everything the two presented and sought after seemed to merge for a moment as the moment stretched into eternity.
His companion...?
Was he serious about this? Did he even know what he was asking, what he was getting himself into. She knew by now that he was clever, intelligent, but he was emotion driven, too and were his words driven by reasoning or by feelings?
She couldn't know and actually, she didn't want to know.
All she currently thought about was that he had indeed asked her. The first living being who wanted to be with her for more than just a night, who wanted more than just her body. He knew what he was gambling towards, but still he wanted her by his side.
"I...." she whispered slowly and this was one of the few moments where she was short of words. How to answer?
Inside she tried to see clearly, tried to organize the turmoil into something she could decide upon, but all she achieved was realizing that for one time, her P'o and her nature wanted the same. She didn't know if that was good.
The Demon had his own reasons to want her to accept, knowing that so many possibilities to deceive and destroy would creep up. Her nature wanted her to accept because it would give her endless possibilities to advance on her path towards her goal.
So could she really refuse?
She knew the answer even before her mind realized the full impact this decision would have on her life.
"I...would be honored...to...be your companion..." she whispered quietly and slowly lifted her gaze and let her eyes pierce his.
It was a magical moment, shared by two supernatural beings. Something grew stronger between them, something invisible, but more powerful than any rope or chain could ever be. Slowly, time lost its meaning for this special moment, the sounds and movements around them seeming to slow down as they lost themselves in the others gaze.
Both knew there was a dark cloud looming over them...
Both knew that their destiny would be to suffer should they really chose this path...
Both didn't care at this moment...
Kaze's head was still feeling as if his brains were suspended in cotton, so he just let his body take over for a while. He smiled warmly and took Hikari's hands. Such public displays of affection were looked down by society, but neither of them were wholly part of it.
Her hands were suffused with life energy, and they felt warm to the touch, so he let his thumbs explore the silky texture of her skin.
"My thanks..." He said, simply.
Hikari's reflex was to withdraw from the touch, but she surpressed this reflex and instead let him do what he wished with her hands. The skin was next to perfect, as was everything on this undead beauty and she watched Kaze with quiet eyes that were so full of turmoil.
And of course, some mischief twinkled there...
"What? That's all? I agree to become your companion and I get a simple 'My thanks?'" she said with a quiet, light voice and her fingers suddenly squeezed his.
Kaze laughed.
"Sorry; that's more or less what my brain can handle at the moment." He grinned, and looked down at the smooth alabaster he was holding. Again, he raised her hands so they both leant closer to the center of the table, and to each other.
He stared at her eyes; the fox had stared at many eyes, reading what he could for his own purposes, but this time he was just looking serenely at the troubled depths of Hikari's.
"Don't..." she whispered, averting her eyes slowly, though not leaning away from him. "Don't look into my eyes. You...you can see what I really am in there...and I can see it mirrored in your eyes..."
Why? Why was she so weak at the moment? She felt almost like crying, something she hadn't done for many...many years, something she had thought impossible to happen again.
But the feeling was there.
She was afraid of rejection. Because if he rejected one part, he'd sooner or later grow tired of just half a girl, too, no?
Kaze was awash with a sensation he hadn't felt in almost a century: tenderness. He knew she was old, her eyes didn't hide from him her real age, yet she was acting like the young girl she looked like.
He cocked his head and twisted it in an odd angle to follow her fleeing gaze.
"Hikari... I already know what you are." He whispered, his neck leaning sideways. "I may be a little drunk, but do you think I'd ask what I did without full knowledge of what I was getting into...?" He straightened and blinked. "Don't answer; we foxes have a bad reputation for doing exactly that..."
Hikari shifted a bit but still didn't look up. She looked much like a little girl who knew she had done something wrong and was ashamed of admitting it, but she wasn't a little girl.
She was a well over 200 year old, supernatural being with powers beyond human's imagination. Even her words could be lethal and here she sat, ashamed, sad and hopeful at the same time.
"But do you realize what it means for us?" she whispered quietly. "I...I mean you...you deserve someone who can return your appreciation and your feelings, someone who can give you everything you want as your companion."
He took his hand from hers and searched inside his robes, pulling out a sheet of snow-white paper. He began folding, winking at her from time to time, until he presented her with an origami dragon; it's serpentine form twisting and shifting as he pulled it from its extremes.
He gave it to her, smiling all the way.
She gazed at the dragon quietly and didn't do anything for a long while. Her eyes took in the form of the dragon, the milky white paper and the beast, the two worlds colliding.
Then slowly, she reached forward and took it.
Again, she looked up to Kaze and her eyes mirrored her words clearly.
A simple, yet not so simple question.
"Why...?"
"Because you need it." He answered. "If you consider yourself such trouble, then remember that foxes are attracted to trouble."
He poured more sake into both their cups.
"I can give you ten thousand explanations, one for each creature and thing under Heaven, and all of them would sound hollow because your heart will hear them that way." He shrugged and took a sip. "I can't explain it as much as I can quote the entire Laws of Heaven and how many of them I've broken."
He smiled wider still, lost into the lost expression in HIkari's face. "You speak of finding someone who can give me everything I want... that is never the case; you give and take, hoping that what you give will please the other, and what you take is freely given. There are no rules."
He leaned closer to her while he spoke, whispering the last word milimeters from her lips.
Hikari inhaled the scent of the shapeshifter in front of her and took in his features silently, not moving an inch as he talked.
When he was so close to her, she felt something...
Something she hadn't felt before when around Hengeyokai and she realized it was trust...
"No rules..." she whispered quietly, her words coming slow and silent.
"But what if I hurt you...I...don't want to hurt you..." she said, still not decided, still struggling to find the right way, the correct path.
"Unless you kill me, I will always recover." He answered, also with his eyes, not moving either and speaking in a soft murmur. "Shed your worries about the future and the past, for it is today that you're here, and today that you must choose a path."
Kaze's own couple of centuries of life were an accumulation of experiences. He wouldn't tell Hikari yet, but he'd been married twice, and some of his descendants still toiled the land or walked the streets of some city or another. He knew about the risks of tying two destinies together, and he had no regrets; he'd do it again.
But this time he'd do it with a Kuei-jin. An immortal Demon, forever bound to live with the torment of two souls, of a Demon trying to gain control.
It was a risky gamble and Hikari knew it, but she couldn't deny the feelings inside her and the happiness she felt when thinking about the possibility of being his companion. She couldn't deny that it was a way to advance on her own path towards being more human than monster.
And she couldn't deny that it would give the Demon inside her millions of possibilities to act and hurt Kaze.
But still...
She closed her eyes and thus denied Kaze the insight into her thoughts.
But she answered him.
She leaned a little bit more forward and that was enough to let their lips meet.
The second time this evening, but this time it was a soft, tender kiss from lips of unnatural sweetness and purity, a kiss laden with centuries of longing and desire. All placed into the tenderness of one, small kiss.
The kitsune played with a lock of her hair while the kiss lasted, and let his fingers run across her face when they both straightened. A silence fell between them, but it was a comfortable one, the kind that is not an absence of sound but rather just another form of expression. Kaze's eternal smile was now one full of understanding and contentment. He said nothing, letting his hand speak about the centuries he was willing to spend guiding her soul towards a higher state.
Slowly, she let the silence pass and a soft smile tugged at her features as she watched him and the implications of his gestures and words sunk in deeply, creating a warmth inside her she had thought forgotten.
Her eyes glittered lightly in the pale light and she was content for the moment. Happy to have made this decision. Happy to be here, with Kaze.
And happy to still be in this world for maybe the first time.