So the reader returns!

If you are reading this, I am pleased that my narrative hasn't chased you off. If you aren't reading this, well, it's not important then, is it?

Do continue on dear reader. We have much to see.

Chapter 10.

Again, I was thrown back by a perfectly timed counter. Now that I had falna Luniore wasn't holding back nearly as much as when I was a mere mortal. As I pulled myself to my feet, body sore, bones feeling like they were grinding against one another, she frowned at me.

"Why are you holding back?" She asked, approaching and helping me dust myself off.

"I'm..." I was about to protest, but I considered the all the fighting we had done since my arrival yesterday. I was fighting as I usually did. I kept mindful of range. I pulled my arms and legs back quickly to avoid grapples and holds, or, followed through quickly to string my attacks along. I kept my combinations random, but simple, to confuse my opponent, and not myself. "I am? How?"

My sparring partner smiled at me, probably because I seemed to think seriously about her lessons. Her happy go lucky personality hid a strict teacher, and she hated off the cuff answers that were more emotion than logic. "Here. Try this."

She made sure I was steady on my feet, before stepping back, crouching, and then springing up into the air like a rocket. From about ten meters up, she smiled down on me, perfectly balanced on the point of a sloped roof. I blinked up at her while she waved at me to try.

So, after a few deep knee bends to make sure my legs wouldn't suddenly fold up on me, I mimicked her movement.

I blinked, and found myself looking at the ground far below. I saw Luniore looking up at me, the main street next to the Hostess of Fertility, and the peaks of a few other buildings, before I was suddenly descending. I think I might have screamed in panic, but my adrenalin was spiking so hard that I lost control of myself.

Like a damsel in distress, Luniore caught me before I hit the ground. All at once I felt the last two or so seconds catch up on me, and I started shivering.

She sat me down against a wall, and I closed my eyes while my brain simply processed everything. I had seen Bell dodge like an acrobat, leaping over his opponent to land behind them, or drop down on them to strike. I had watched Ryuu and her nearly invisible swordsmanship. I myself was strong enough to carry a forty kilogram woman while running at full speed, and keeping perfect balance.

It was one thing to see it done, and quite another to do it yourself. I opened my eyes and looked up at my sparring partner. With a smile, she offered her hand and pulled me to my feet.

"No more fighting today. You need to work on how to move your body." She leaned forward, looking me right in the eyes, before poking me in the nose, "You're it."

She promptly hopped back once, twice, and then performed the same crouching jump, leaping up to the same roof as before. I blinked at her, looking up at her smiling face, before taking a deep breath, running forward two steps, and jumping up after her. Again, I catapulted into the air, nearly hitting the overhang of the roof on my way past, and then almost losing my balance when I landed.

I slid down the roof about half way before stopping myself, let out the breath I had been holding, and looked up at Luniore. She gave me a bright smile, a brief round of applause, then turned around, gave her rear a pat to taunt me, and started running along the roof, leaping across the gap to the next expertly.

Bracing my feet and getting a quick feel for the slope, I ran after her, leaping into the air towards her.

And overshooting my goal. By an entire rooftop. And a little bit.

The result was that after I cleared her rooftop, I passed over her head, and didn't quite make the next roof. I hit the edge of next roof gut first, folding up like a wet noodle, sticking there for a moment while I tried to recover my breath, I then slide down and just barely caught the edge of the roof with my hand. This time, I hadn't panicked. So I pulled myself up with my one hand, balanced myself on the roof, and faced Luniore again. With another smile, she ran a few paces away from me, and hopped over to the next roof, waiting for me to follow.

We had spent from nearly noon to sunset like that. Running, jumping, falling off, getting up, apologizing for Kodori shaped marks in the walls and rooftops. And not once did I catch her. Not that I really expected to, but the tiny little competitive voice in me was a little disappointed none-the-less. But I realized, as we ate dinner together, while Luniore told embarrassing stories about just how terrible I was at roof top tag, that my logical mind had accepted (grudgingly) that I was not only capable of this 'super human' parkour, but that it was fun. By the end of chase, I had felt that I'd gotten a handle on how to use my new abilities to move around.

"I think you get it now, right?" She asked, grinning at me from across the table, "But I have to apologize."

"Oh? Why?" I blinked at her, puzzled, "For what?"

"You weren't holding back." She replied with a smile, "You just didn't know better."

After getting cleaned up and working until closing, I went up to my room to do my customary stretches before bed. Mia had left the place exactly as I'd left it, and it felt like visiting my favourite relative's house for a sleep over.

I heard Ryuu just before she tapped at my door. "Come in."

"Luniore is proud of you." She said as she entered, "You did well today." She sat on my bed, while I finished one last stretch before pulling the chair over and sitting opposite her. "You wanted to learn about magic?"

I nodded, "The guild found another Renard in the city, and after talking to her, and testing out a theory in the dungeon, I think I can use it easily enough. But..." I thought about the words, then continued, "It is like a candle. Lit, or out. No middle ground."

"And before? When you talked to Hestia?" She asked, "You were glowing then. Angry."

I nodded, "That, I'm not sure about. But yes, I've done that too." I thought about how Bell told me I was glowing, while looking at Zanis. Or later, when my Goddess looked terrified of me. "I feel very bad about that."

"Even for Elves, our magic can be... Coloured by emotion. For us, who call on spirits, it is different. Calling a spirit of..." She hesitated, "I am not sure if you know the word. Ifrit."

"Spirit of fire." I replied, smiling slightly, "Some words are there from my old home."

She nodded then continued, "Calling for the fire of Ifrit, and being angry, can help. Fire and rage are similar. But one can easily lose control. Being calm, and calling for the healing of Undine, can help, but being angry, and trying to heal, may make the attempt fail.

"When I first used my magic, I was protecting my Goddess. I shielded her from a direct strike from the silver back at the monster festival. It felt like every bone in my body wanted to break, but I held on." I chuckled, "And suffered mind down right after."

She nodded, "Your magic is of the body. I can not use such magic myself, but maybe I can help you focus yours." She smiled slightly as I nodded. "Turn the chair around, face the mirror, look into it."

I did as she asked, sitting down in front of the full length mirror and looking at myself, and Ryuu behind me. "Hm." I looked at my face, my pointed ears, making them flick first one way then the other. "I've worked hard on how to control my body." I said, now swishing my tail on command, not just because I was pleased with something.

"Good. Now, close your eyes." She was looking over my shoulder, and only continued once I had closed my liquid gold coloured eyes. "Remember when you arrived." She had heard my story, as had the others, now that I knew enough language to tell it, "Remember the sandy haired man."

My forehead wrinkled up as I did, my ears laying flat to my skull. "Remember when he and the other man led those ants to you."

I pictured the sight of his laughing face a moment before he and the black haired man ran past. I felt the tip of my tail flick angrily left and right in short swishes.

"Remember when he and Zanis took Lilly away."

I had guessed where she was going with this, and I had the image in my mind already. The smug faces, the lack of any kind of remorse at the mention of the black haired man dieing in the dungeon. The arrogance of their walk as they led Lilly away.

I felt rage. Rage of the blackest sort. Rage that nearly led me to kill some one in my former life before a good friend and reason held me back.

I heard the chair slide against the floor roughly as I stood up and looked in the mirror.

I had an aura of vibrant, malignant, purple. It simultaneously radiated and dripped off of my body like boiling liquid that had been spilled over a table. My tail seemed longer, swishing back and forth like cat's on the hunt. But my eyes... Slit in the middle like a cat's, the molten gold surface of my eyes were spit in the middle by a wide black iris, and the face that held them was twisted in rage.

Then Ryuu tapped me on the back of the head.

I woke up just as the sun was starting to brighten my room. Surprisingly, my head felt fine. The image of myself, body almost literally burning with rage, face twisted in hate... That hurt. Not physically, but mentally. I had not just lost control of my emotions, but I felt myself doing it. Guided part way by Ryuu, I myself took the last step and was a half second from leaping out the window to try and force Zanis and the rest of Soma Familia to hand Lilly over.

I got out of bed, and proceeded to dress for a day of work. I had looked directly at what Bell meant by 'your eyes are glowing' and what had made my Goddess shrink back in fear. But, head clear of that anger, I realized I felt what was going on behind it. The ebb and flow, dip and surge of my internal energy, my magic.

I faced the mirror, closed my eyes, and pictured a cage. Locked inside this cage was the coal of anger I still felt. I reached out a hand, not quite touching the bars of this cage, imagined the heat coming off it of, and opened my eyes.

I caught sight of a red glow around my body, but it winked out an instant later. With a smile, I finished getting dressed and went down to help the cook prepare for the morning rush.

That afternoon, my training partner was Ryuu. Mia still had a business to run, so I could only monopolize so much of her workers time, after all.

My mind unfettered from its previous notion of how things used to work, I tried out what I had learned yesterday. And I got my ass kicked almost as bad as my first sparring match with her. I had expected that honestly. I was sacrificing control for speed, or efficiency for unpredictability. Ryuu was far ahead of me in skill, not to mention stats, and when ever I got a little too creative, she punished me for it.

But as the day wound down to dusk, I had gained more control, refined my new movements nearly to the point of them feeling natural in combat. It was like I was a kid again, hitting the sandbag with a jump kick and landing perfectly for the first time.

After dinner, the dinner rush, and cleanup, Ryuu continued my magic lessons.

This time, instead of trying to draw out my emotions however...

"I want you to push my hand." She said, standing two paces away from me in my room. "Try what you did yesterday, without the anger. Think of something else." With that, she braced her feet in a long stance and held out a hand, palm up as if trying to tell an oncoming car to stop.

I positioned myself properly and put my palm against hers. We curled out fingers together, and she gave me a nod.

First I leaned forward, bracing my feet like hers, only I was using my back leg to push instead of simply brace. It was like I was pushing against a mountain. Her body was simply immovable. Next, I put my free hand behind my clasped one, and pushed more, trying to take a step forward with all my might, feeling that nearly intangible barrier of going from 'normal' strength to 'fanla' might.

I saw her smiling at me in her tiny reserved way, feeling the warmth of her palm against mine. It was then I felt something, like something was behind... or woven into... brushing the surface... of my falna. I relaxed slightly, trying to feel the rising energy of my magic, then pushed forward again. It was a similar feeling to when I fought the ants, my magic rushing out of my centre and pushing itself to just under the surface of my skin, holding the wall of the fortress that was my body.

This time, with complete calm, I let the magic settle to my feet like mist. With a shout, I opened my eyes, looked directly into Ryuu's and imagined the stored potential at my feet surging up and forward, taking me with it.

I wasn't sure what happened next. In one instant, my determination and focus jumped through my body, straight forward into my clasped hand, and towards Ryuu.

The next, I was laying on top of her, in the hallway, my face buried in her bosom, hand still holding hers.

"Kodori." I heard Mia's voice from somewhere to my right. "I don't mind you staying here to train, especially since you help with the work." I heard her foot tapping the floor, "But if you are going to do things after hours, could you keep it down? Other people sleep here too."

I looked up from where my face was resting, into the slightly blushing face of Ryuu. I gently untangled my fingers from hers, rolled off of her carefully, and stood up, helping her up off the floor as well. "Yes Ma'am." I replied meekly.

"Good. And fix the door tomorrow." Mia continued.

"Yes Ma'am."

"Good. Now get to sleep. Plenty to do tomorrow." She gave us both a pat on the shoulder, and walked past us to her room.

I waited until she closed the door before giving Ryuu a smile, "I didn't even use words that time."

"Maybe when you find the words, it will be stronger." She replied, "I was surprised."

"Me too." I replied, lifting the door up and leaning it against the wall, examining the hinges. "Good, just nailed in..." I thought of another idea I could sell, and filed it away under 'rainy day chat with Hephaestus'. Turning back to Ryuu and bowing I said, "Until tomorrow."

"Until tomorrow."

Day three of my training dawned wet and miserable. It had been the first hard rain since my arrival in the city, and it made my morning spar with Luniore far more interesting than I wanted. She still led me around in a game of rooftop tag, doing a full circuit of the district, from the Hostess to the wall and back again along the opposite side of the street. And I only fell once this time too.

The morning patrons laughed at the story of the fox eared girl falling off of the meat shop roof, just missing a waggon, getting nibbled on by a rather large draft horse, and then being carried back to the Hostess looking like a half drown kitten with a cow lick in her hair from the horse.

I took the teasing stoically, figuring I'd earn my lumps now, and not later when it might get me killed, but still, it was a little more interesting than I'd wanted before my morning tea.

It was still raining when the afternoon crowd came through, and I was at the door looking at the driving rain hit the cobblestones when a half familiar pair of amazons ran inside, laughing and shaking off the rain as they did so.

"Welcome back to the Hostess of Fertility." I greeted them.

"Oh! We thought you quit. When was the last time we saw you... Tione?" The, um, less endowed of the two sisters asked the other.

"Wasn't it at the party, Tiona? Tying Bete to the rafters was funny." The other laughed.

I nodded, smiling, "He deserved it. Here for lunch?" I motioned to one of the smaller empty tables.

"Oh, weren't you unable to speak then?" Tione asked, "And yes he did. He's a strong fighter, but lacks..."

"Anything resembling social grace." Tiona finished, heading to the table. "Yes, I remember, you were just learning the language then. Joined a Familia yet?"

I nodded, standing next to the table, "Yes, Hestia Familia. What would you two like?"

"Isn't Ais training that white haired boy? You would think they were planning on eloping with all the time they've spent together the last two days." Tione said, making the other bat her shoulder, "What it's true! Having to deflect Loki from finding out is getting annoying."

"You know Ais is clueless when it comes to that." Tiona replied, "Always so serious, but I think it's good for her to socialize with others. Oh, soup please." She said to me.

"Me too!"

We exchanged a little more small talk after I fetched their orders. I hadn't realized it but I hearing news about Bell made me feel a little better.

That evening, due to the rain, I trained with both Lunoire and Ryuu. The exercise, was that we were pretending I was fighting in a hallway, and they would alternate. One would dart forward, make a few attacks that I would have to parry or avoid, and then they would switch, all while keeping within the invisible lines marked by some butter knives we had stuck between the cobblestones.

It was about an hour into the exercise, just as the gloomy sky was darkening that I tried something. I waited until it was Ryuu's turn to attack, her wooden sword was much easier to defend against since the distance the weapon had to travel gave me that instant longer to dodge or parry it.

Then I took a deep breath, imagining that I was feeding the air to the little ember of magic I kept inside me. I let the breath out, then inhaled again, stoking that inner fire some more. Ryuu made one last stab at me, then darted backwards, letting Lunoire with her gloved fists past her. I had less time here, her punches and kicks fast and solid, leaving no room for error or distraction.

But I had started that ember within me burning. I had to stop feeding it as I wove about, but I could feel it start to bubble within me, like it was just under my skin.

I was slowly giving ground down the imaginary hallway, and I could see one of the butter knives out of the corner of my eye, just as Lunoire sprung backwards. It was now or never.

Like the night before I pushed the energy in my body forward as my back foot kicked off the ground. But instead of a blind rush, my eyes were open, and suddenly my hands were latched onto Lunoire's shoulder and under her upper arm, and before she could get over her surprise, I had lifted her a little off the ground and used her body to foil Ryuu's first thrust at me as she moved to switch places.

I still couldn't stick the landing though, and by the time my momentum had bled off, I was laying on top of Lunoire, looking into her eyes as my elbows and knees stopped me from making her into a landing pad. Quickly looking to first one side, then the other, I saw that our heads and shoulders were past their end of the imagined hallway.

"Ha." I said to my downed trainer. Standing up and offering her a hand.

Ryuu ruined my moment of triumph by tapping my rear with her sword, making the three of us laugh.

"How... Wait... What did you do?" Lunoire asked, dusting off her uniform as best she could.

"Ryuu helped me with my magic, you helped me with my movement... I simply did both at once." I replied proudly. "Oh..." I lowered my voice a little, "I also have a little gift from the falna too."

"Well... You broke through." Ryuu stated, collecting the knives, "But you still need to work on control."

I nodded, "Yes ma'am." I bowed to her, then to Lunoire. "But I think I might be able to work my magic and fight at the same time. Maybe... There is one more thing I would like to try, but I'd have to hit something... I fought a monster, a 'hard armoured', during the monster festival."

They both nodded, so I continued, "I made it kill itself, but that is because I couldn't hit it hard enough to hurt it."

I told them how I had fought it, and how I made it break its own neck. Lunoire nodded afterwards then said, "Without a weapon, it would be tough. Most bare hand fighters have spikes or blades on their armour for that kind of thing though."

"I can't use anything as a weapon. A tool yes, but that is all." I replied, "I might be able to crack their shells now, but what if I can't? I have one more thing I need to try, but I don't want to use a live target for my first attempt."

They both nodded, and together we resolved to look for a solution tomorrow. For now though we got out of the rain and called it a night.

"Miss Kodori!" I heard Bell's voice from the door just as we were getting ready for the lunch rush. "I'm glad you are here."

"Oh, Bell, good to see you're still alive." I chuckled, waving him over. I took a moment to make sure my uniform ribbon was straight then asked, "What brings you? Three days left, right?"

He shook his head and he grabbed one of my hands, his grip desperate, "I heard from Miss Nazza, that some of Soma Familia are planning to go to the dungeon. If they take Lilly she might get left behind. They look to be heading out tomorrow morning."

"And if they don't we might have a better chance... Oh I see." I tapped his shoulder with my fist and smiled, "Then let's both go home today and plan. But first." I turned around and spotted the girl I was looking for. "Syr! Bell is here!"

Bell's desperation quickly dissolved into 'stuttering idiot' at my call for Syr, and I used that moment to slip away to talk to Mia, Ryuu and Luniore in turn.

"So, it looks like tomorrow, instead of three more days." I said finally to my two teachers.

"It's a good thing I found what you were looking for. It just arrived too." Luniore said with a grin, "I remember the first time I wanted to test myself too. This should be just perfect for you."

"After lunch then? Mia was giving me... that look..." I said ominously.

Turning back, I saw Bell trying to talk to Syr and managing to keep his stuttering under control, and went to rescue him. "Now Bell, are you bothering this young lady?" I asked, patting Syr on the shoulder and tugging her closer to me protectively, "If so, I'm going to have to ask you to stay for lunch."

Syr giggled, and Bell blushed even harder, but he nodded and found himself a seat. I went to the door to greet people and met the lunch rush with a smile on my face.

Bell followed us to the back yard of the Hostess after the rush was over, and what was waiting there surprised me. There, still on a cart, was a small collection of chopped tree, and one very big stump.

"I asked a friend of mine on the way home last night to set aside some of his bigger pieces of lumber. The stump is a bonus." Lunoire said with a grin, hopping over to the cart and patting the one and a half meter wide stump fondly. "When I wanted to see just how hard I could hit something, without it being the person next to me, I used this!"

To demonstrate she picked up a bit of lumber, this one only about twenty centimetres across. With a flourish she placed it on the ground, standing straight up, and with a sharp violent motion punched the top of it with a "YA!" that made my ears ring.

The log piece shattered into bits, big and small, clattering and skittering across the cobblestone of the back lot.

"Now you try. You too if you want, Mister Bell." She said cheerfully.

I was honestly a little hesitant. Lunoire had a huge gap in stats in her favour. I could only guess how much stronger she was, but I knew it was still a very wide gap from where I was on the adventurer food chain. Punching something like a log to splinters, without hurting yourself seemed far fetched, even considering all I'd seen so far.

But, if I didn't stop doubting myself, I'd never evolve. So, I picked up a bit of wood, placed it on the ground, took a deep breath, and with a shout slammed my fist into it without a care on how much it might hurt.

With a dry snap, pain lanced up my arm. I jumped to my feet, holding my hand and clamping my jaw shut to stop from crying out. After a moment of shaking my hand, as if trying to shoo the pain away, I looked at the damage.

It was simply a bit of split skin over my middle knuckle. The skin around it as well as the index and ring finger knuckles were looking and feeling bruised, but after a few openings and closings of my hand, it seemed like nothing was broken. I wasn't even bleeding.

The wood however was cracked almost all the way through. I had managed to leave a near perfect knuckle imprint in the top and send three long cracks almost all the way down its thirty centimetre length.

The others all clapped in their own ways, making me feel a little warm and fuzzy despite my being totally overshadowed by Lunoire.

Bell chose a bit of log for himself, drew his dagger and very quickly, almost faster than my eye could see, made it into very flat boards. Each piece was perfectly straight and the same thickness as the others too. Like he was cutting a carrot instead of wood.

"So what did you want to try?" Ryuu asked me quietly, motioning to the big stump.

"Help me lay this on its side..." I replied. After the four of us got it off the cart and put it on its flattest side, we used bits of wood to stop it from rolling. "I think I'm going to use some words for my next one."

Ryuu smiled and Lunoire cheered. Bell just looked a little confused. "Remember when we were fighting those ants?" Bell nodded, "Unlike your spell, mine needs words to reach full power... I think... I have used it without words a few times, but turning my skin into armour needed words I think."

Ryuu and Lunoire stood behing the stump to either side to brace it. "This should be good, right Ryuu?"

"Yes. Remember the emotion you attach to your spell with alter it." Ryuu reminded me.

I stood in front of the stump, put my fist against it, then took three wide steps backward. Taking a deep breath, I widened my stance as I had when I was pushing against Ryuu, and imagined the little caged ember I had inside me.

"I am the hand of my Goddess." Breath in, feed the ember, "I carry Her hope," The ember in my mind's eye turned blue, cold and pure, "I deliver Her wrath." I felt the magic inside me start to move through me, every heart beat making it spread a little further, I took one last breath, "None shall ignore Her judgement! And I pass it now!" I shouted out the last breath, my back foot springing forward, my right fist extending as my body surged forth on a wave of enhanced strength boosted further by my inner magic, "GUILTY!"

It was as if the air itself was trying to stop my sudden rush forward. My fist, clad in ice blue flame slammed into the centre of the stump. With a noise like a cannon going off, the stump shattered, breaking into pieces no bigger than my fist. My ears popped painfully, and I tumbled, rolling forward gracelessly until I slammed into the far wall with a crash and clatter of body and wood.

Upside down, ears ringing, uniform ripped, and bleeding from my nose, I looked at the empty space between Ryuu and Lunoire. I pointed, my shoulder feeling twisted, elbow feeling sprained, and said, "Ha!" before I felt the beginnings of mind down sinking in.

A strong cup of tea and two potions later found me sitting at a table with all the girls and Bell cheering at my success. Or at least, cheering at my not failing. I was pretty sure Ryuu had said my arm was broken or at least fractured, and my shoulder was dislocated. I had also started to suffer mind down right after I hit the stump. Both my sparring partners gave me a short lecture on control and pacing myself, and I agreed with them. Throwing everything into a single attack might be dramatic, but unless you finished the job, you were probably dead.

And I certainly didn't believe in suicide.

"Thank you everyone, for your help again." I said, raising my tea cup, "If all goes well, Bell and I will bring another regular into your fine... es...establish...Aha, establishment!"

They all raised their various drinking containers and cheered. To Mia, still minding the bar and rolling her eyes at us good naturedly, I said, "And hopefully, I get to pass along the kindness you showed me. Rescuing some one, not because I stand to gain anything, but because it is the decent thing to do."

She gave me a smile that told me I had her blessing. I'd almost forgotten what my mother's smile was like, and seeing a similar smile from Mia, made my eyes sting.

"And yes. Bell and I will sweep up the mess in the back lot before we leave." I said, trying to cover up my nostalgia.

After sweeping up and saying our farewells, Bell and I headed to Hestia's part time job. "I'm impressed Bell." I said, holding up the two planks I'd kept from his lumber chopping demonstration. "Your dagger control is... Almost perfect."

I held up the two planks, one was almost imperceptibly wider than the other. Bell blushed and scratched the back of his head. "Ais was very strict." He mumbled.

"Oh? Did you enjoy your training time with her?" I put a little hint of childish inflection in my voice, making his pale face go almost bright red, "Did she give you another lap pillow when you passed out from not taking a break?"

I could almost imagine steam coming from his ears at this point.

So I stopped my teasing and put a hand on his shoulder, "Bell, you are a good person. Having some one like Ais train you, and some of her other guild members cover for her, says a lot about what they think of you."

"What? Really?" His blush faded as he looked up at me.

"Girls love to gossip." I nodded sagely, though I did feel a little guilty saying it myself, "I think Ais considers you a friend, and her friends are okay with it, even though you are different Familia." I let his shoulder go and looked ahead, spotting the shop Hestia sold her potato snacks from, "Grow, Bell, but do not change."

"Huh?" He seemed confused, but I shrugged at him, so instead he looked ahead as well and spotted our tiny Goddess speaking to Takemikazuchi. "Lady Hestia!" He jumped up a little and waved at her to get her attention.

The two divinities turned to face us, Hestia waving excitedly back, Takemikazuchi simply smiling his perfectly serene smile.

"I thought you were going to be away a week?" Hestia said, gathering us both up for a hug, an impressive feat for someone who was so tiny. "I am happy to see you though. How did it go? And why is your uniform all ripped?"

I was still wearing my ripped uniform from the Hostess, but I skipped the explanation of that by asking, "Good news, and bad news." I put a hand on Hestia's shoulder, and looked to the other God first, "Takemikazuchi-sama." I felt like I had to greet the other god, out of politeness, "Kon'nichiwa."

His smile lifted a tiny bit, and he gave me a small bow. I looked down at my Goddess and continued, "What news do you want first?"

Hestia's face drooped a little, and she answered, "Bad."

"Soma Familia is planning a trip to the dungeon tomorrow. From what Bell's heard at least. They bought up some supplies and for such a money loving guild, that gives the rumour a little more... re...reliability? No... Credibility! Yes, so, I agreed with him to cut our training short."

Her face fell a little more, turning into a frown, Takemikazuchi's smile vanished as well, "And the good news?"

"Bell and I trained very hard, and have returned to receive our Goddess's blessing. And cook dinner." I smiled and bowed, giving Bell a nudge.

Perceptive as always, he bowed too and said, "We look forward to your blessing, Lady Hestia!" A little clumsy with words, but perceptive.

"Such good children you have, Hestia." Takemikazuchi said, his smile returning, "I bow to your good fortune. Maybe that is why your potato puffs sell out so much faster than mine..."

I rolled my eyes, still bowing to Hestia, and thus out of sight of the other God. I heard our Goddess laugh and felt her hand on my head, right between my ears. The contact made something inside me want to flop over and get a belly rub or something. "You have done well. Meet me back home, and have dinner ready."

Bell and I turned our heads to face each other slightly and we both grinned, "Yes, Lady Hestia." We both replied. She hadn't tried to use this as an excuse to skip work either.

After dinner, I let Bell get his update first. Hestia's exclamation of surprise made my ears stand up straight, "Bell, this is... Wow... Training with that Ais whatchamacallher really helped." Her sentence had become more grudging as it went on.

"She was very strict. And I trained to exhaustion many times." He admitted, though he smiled and rubbed the back of his head. "I still have so far to go before I am even half of what she is."

The admiration in his voice was clear as crystal. It was almost frightening when I thought about it. Though, from what her friends had said about her, Ais was good people. At least Bell wasn't looking up to some one like Bete. That loud mouthed werewolf.

"Your turn Kodori!" Hestia said, waving me over once Bell put his shirt back on.

I had changed out of my poor abused uniform and into a recently bought t-shirt. I waited until Bell was turned away, working on the dishes, before tugging it off and laying on the bed. Hestia undid the sash that the Ganesha man had given me to cover up, that I was still using to keep my breasts bound. I shivered as the air hit my bare skin.

"Hestia?" I said quietly, in English, "I would like to talk to you after. Outside."

She gave the top of my head a pat, making my tail swish happily a couple of times before I could tell it to stop. I felt the cool wet touch of her fingertip touch my back and trace lines across it, bringing out the tingle of her blessing as it mixed with my accumulated experiences. Heat seemed to build just under the skin of my back, before cooling down sharply, like a sprinkle of water on a hot pan.

"This is... Oh my... You have been training, both of you. You... oh..." I felt Hestia fall on my back and hug me, before she sat back up, tied my binding back in place, and got off of me. Wordlessly, she handed me the paper she had used to 'photocopy' my status, tears of pride at the corner of her eyes.

Kodori

Power: D 583

Endurance: A 807

Dexterity: E 459

Agility: D 541

Magic: C 660

Congenital Magic: Self Re-enforcement

Through will alone, boost basic stats.

-Home of the Goddess: Uses Congenital magic to grant natural armour.

-Judgement of the Goddess: Uses Congenital magic to grant increased strength.

Curse: Weapon's Bane

Weapons used to attack will break upon impact.

Titan's grip

Grants an unbreakable grip.

Kitsune's Rage

Grants a boost in strength.

May lose control.

Again I used my 'learning to read mumble', looking over my new stats and magic. There it was, in plain text. What I had learned was clearly printed, not just on my back, but my very soul. The words that went with my magic, were like a prayer to Her, Hestia, my Goddess.

"Of course..." I spoke quietly, a little embarrassed, "Without you, I would still be just a silly fox working in a bar, trying to learn how to speak. Why wouldn't my magic be a dedication to you, Hestia?" I reached out and pet her soft hair, "Let's go outside a moment." Then to Bell, I raised my voice a little and said, "Bell, you too. But stay inside until you get a knock, okay?"

"Oh... Yes Miss Kodori." He quickly dried his hands and the three of us went upstairs.

Hestia gave a little wave to Bell and closed the door leading outside. She faced me, and put her hands on her hips, "So, what's so important?" Her voice was curious, not accusing.

I spoke in English, loud enough for her to hear, but still quietly. "I want you to hear something, and see something." I stood two good paces from her, so she could see me clearly in the fading daylight. "You have done so much for me, I'm not sure you can ever know how thankful I am." I took a deep breath, imagining the caged ember I held within, "During my training, I discovered that last ability, and drew it out. It's a piece of my old life, that I brought here. It's something I wish I could have left behind, honestly."

"Then you wouldn't be you." She said, quoting the same line from so many 'lets be friends' cartoons I'd watched back home.

"No, I wouldn't, but of all the things I brought with me, and all the things I left behind, this part I truly hate about myself. Before I promised you I'd work hard and rescue Lilly, you saw something, and it scared you." I sighed, the ember inside me cooling slightly. I took another breath to fan it again, then continued, "It was... Anger. Not just anger at what Lilly is going through, but anger at myself for being so... Useless. Look at me, understand."

I let the ember glow hot. I fuelled it with the anger of my impotence against Zanis and the injustice against Lilly. At my inability to do well in my old life. My mediocrity of my old self at being unable to get past my fears. At all of the impotent anger I felt at the schoolyard bullies I could do nothing against because no matter how much I wanted to, I was too weak to do anything but take their teasing and abuse. It was childish, it was immature, but now it was truly dangerous.

Because now, I was NOT weak. I was not incapable.

I opened my eyes to look at Hestia. Her body was backed against the door, her legs were shaking, her hands trembling. But she was looking at me. I could see the glow radiating off my body reflected in her clear blue eyes. "Call Bell." I said finally, my voice slow and strained, the magic inside me feeling like a twisting snake, a monster in a cage just big enough to hold it.

She tapped on the door, a little fitfully, but she overcame her moment of fear and stepped away from the door to let it open. Promptly, Bell opened it and stepped outside, his body switching from 'taking a step outside' to 'jump in front of some one and protect them' in the space of a single heartbeat. The two of them looked at me, Hestia putting a hand on Bell's arm, making him relax slightly.

"Bell." I said, "If you ever see me like this, and I am about to do something stupid. Promise, swear! You will do something to stop me."

"What..." He looked at me, confused, they both did.

"It's the last part of her new status." Hestia said, reaching out to me and taking hold of my hand. It felt like ice against my skin, and the rage I was letting myself feel recoiled away from it like a separate living thing.

"Promise me Bell." I repeated, "I am old enough to know where this comes from, and what it means if I let it run free. There are things in the world I hate, just like anyone else, but there is no such thing as justice without reason. If I ever lose myself to this." I motioned to myself with my free hand, feeling the ember of my magic losing to the cool touch of my Goddess, "I won't be thinking of anything good. I will not be fighting for a good cause. I will be fighting just to fight. Neither of us is like that." I closed my eyes and imagined the cage again, locking the anger away, "I've been given a second chance, I don't want to ruin it by doing something I can't take back."

"I promise." Bell said, taking hold of my other hand. I drew them both into a brief hug and pushed them both back to arms length.

"Thank you both. Now let's go plan for tomorrow." I said with a smile.

Author's notes.

I hope I have not bored any of you, with what amounts to yet another bout of self (re?)discovery for our hero. I promise, the next chapter will be far more exciting, or at the very least less heavy on the emotional scale.

I think... As a writer, I am reaching a point where the character is starting to become more 'real'. Where the 'world' and 'self' are matching up, and the old reality is now almost totally overshadowed by the new.

Until next time, dear readers.