It's been a long while since the last update. Hope everyone stay safe in this turbulent time.

The company I'm working at moved the office recently, while the travel time isn't that much different than before thanks to the location having better transportation, it's more exhaustive to travel that I desire nothing more than playing a game to blow off stream and go to bed everyday. Oh, well, never mind me, enjoy the new chapter, everyone.

Chapter 14

A month full of rainy days passed by since Taylor's last discussion about gods with Shinki, things went back to relatively normal for a time as she continued on her study of magic and medicine with vigor and diligence.

Yang's compliments about her idea of using magic to assist in acupuncture training motivated Taylor to try using it every opportunity she gets. The results so far were promising, albeit not as ground-breaking as she'd like to think. Mao pointed out that healers that can use magic also doing it all the time, though how they do it varied which surprised Taylor.

"Aren't there an academy that teaches this thing?" Taylor asked one day when they were going out to buy groceries on a rare clear sky day of that season "I mean, we even got an academy in this town. Shouldn't something like that have at least some standard practices?"

"They have to consider people who can't do magic too." was Mao's reply.

"But shouldn't public institute educate people and bring out their potential?" argued Taylor.

At this, the younger girl laughed quite loudly, which drew a couple of heads from the passer-by at her. She realized her mistake quickly though and apologized. The conversation was thus halted until after they hurried down the street.

"Well, sorry for that attention." Mao said unapologetically, and then continue where she left off previously "Well, the academy is putting both magical and non-magical together except for separate magic class. Because there're not that many magic users around."

Taylor glanced at the shadow of another housewife flying over them and replies "But I saw so many people with magic here."

"Uh-huh." the smaller girl shrugged "Thing is people with magic are long-lived and barely age, if at all. When birth rate stays the same and the ratio of people with magic for each generation stays the same but the death rate slowed, what do you think will happen?"

Blinking twice, Taylor spoke the first thing that came to her mind after processing what Mao implied; "Your dad is quite well-versed, isn't he?"

A chuckle escaped Mao's lips, "Yeah, yeah, say that to my dad, not me!" And then she added, "He may not have magic or hailed from land with one, but he did experienced things here far longer than you and me after all."

"I supposed so…"

It wasn't like Taylor could argue that. It was true after all.

They reached the ever-busy market square a little later. Most of the shops were still the same, but several stalls were of the merchants from faraway cities and countries coming to trade with the Pandemonium's population. And as if it was the nature of merchant regardless of the universe; they didn't seek to compete with the local, they instead sell things that couldn't be found on the local shops while sometimes buying the local products that couldn't be found elsewhere in exchange.

The only thing these merchants were lacking was fresh food products from aboard.

"I supposed I'm hoping too much to get something fresh from other countries?"

Taylor's muttering wasn't as quiet as she would hope for, as Mao turned to look at her with a smug smile on her face implied that she knew something she didn't. But it was not hard to guess. "There's imported fresh food too?"

Mao nodded, and then she sighed with a disappointed look on her face; "Yeah, but it's so rare to find anyone that sells them, let alone the good one. Not many magicians pursue the path of becoming a walking refrigerator and warehouse after all."

That quip reminded Taylor of the storage magic that she saw several denizens of the Pandemonium castle use and pondered on it a bit before comments; "I thought that it'd be more commonplace."

Mao gave Taylor a snort; "If you haven't set foot into many academies around the realm, Taylor, I'd think you're playing dumb." She shook her head while they walked past another foreign merchant stall selling porcelain wares with a small crowd of locals looking and bargaining.

Once they were clear of the crowd, she whispered; "Thing is, this town is often called the land of education by other counties, where aspiring scholars and apprentices usually embarked on the state-sponsored journey to study here. Many advancements, magical or technological, came from this town's academy. I think you get what I'm going to say right?"

Taylor was confused and argued a moment later; "But Shinki said that she wanted to teach me herself. Why bother with that if not because the education is so-so?"

"She never said that you going to the academy is a bad idea either, right?"

Mao was perceptive, Taylor thought while nodding, encouraging Mao to bluntly comments; "Your standard is skewed because you have Lady Shinki as your teacher."

Before Taylor could response, they were called by a familiar green-haired monster-in-human-form who posed as a merchant. Mao promptly waved back happily and quickly made her way to the seed and plant stall of that person while dragging Taylor along.

While seeing her once a month at most, Taylor still wondered if Yuuka ever gets bored of wearing the same attire over and over again. But she then doubted that a being with many times the lifespan of a puny human will entertain the same view as her.

Taylor's musing was brought to a halt when Yuuka turned her attention to her after a small talk with Mao; "So, how're you doing these days, little one?"

"I'm fine, thank you for the concern."

Taylor politely replied. While interacting with Yuuka once a month for a whole season has calmed her fear of the latter's not-so-hidden power down, she was still nervous when getting close to a being of such immense power, not counting Shinki, of course.

Yuuka sported a thoughtful look after hearing Taylor's reply. And then, she nailed Taylor's hidden thought right on the head. "You're unsatisfied about some arrangements, but ultimately it's inconsequential and it'd be rude to bother anyone with it, correct?"

Mao turned to look at Taylor with questions on her face as if to help Yuuka pressured her into answering. But that probably be her pessimistic thinking and Taylor quickly put that thought away as she tried to come up with answers.

"I just… want to understand a little…" Finally, she put her thoughts into words, and then she got an idea "…maybe you can help me."

"Oh?"

Taking Yuuka's curious look as permission to continue, Taylor glanced around the market first. Once she saw that no one was listening to them, she asked a question; "How can you change the mind of the people who have lived longer than you so much that they have unfathomable knowledge and experiences compared to you?"

Yuuka's red eyes locked with Taylor's while Mao was listening to the conversation with mild interest as she was busy counting the goods she was ordered to procure. And then after a moment, she let off a chuckle; "Having trouble with a certain guard dog of the Pandemonium, I see… Hakuryu I presume?"

Taylor frowned at the apt-description of the fox but still nodded, and that caused the green-haired woman to widened her smile. "It's not my place to judge the management of the Pandemonium, but let me guess: you've been avoiding confrontation with her since you had a dispute with her, have you not?"

'Nailed it on the head. Are all elderly people in Makai can read people's minds?' Taylor thought but respectfully nodded. It wouldn't do her any good if she made someone many times her senior and power level mad after all.

Yuuka didn't care about what Taylor was thinking as she bluntly spoke up; "Mulling about it in your mind will get you nowhere, just confront her and speak your mind to her face!"

Taylor was rendered speechless for a moment before she protested what she perceived as an outrageous and suicidal plan. "I don't have that overwhelming power to stand against her like you!"

The outburst didn't faze Yuuka as she shrugged "The past Hakuryu will just turn you into a red smear on the floor the moment you disagree with her. Trust me, the Hakuryu now is a big softie compared to her past self. You can talk to her! She won't bite I'm sure."

Taylor wasn't sure why would that be relevant to the conversation, but Yuuka didn't give her a chance to find her response; "Having the strength to fight is all well and good, but what good does that strength do when you can't even gather the courage to face them?"

The only response the maid could do was to mutter a single word in surprise; "What?"

Yuuka walked out of her stall to stand in front of Taylor. Her red eyes looked at Taylor "Have you not heard the tale of the cowardly lion? A lion is considered the king of the beast, yet when plagued by his self-esteem, that strength lost its grandeur." She narrowed her eyes "All martial prowess is the same! If the user doesn't have any courage to face what they fear, then these powers are worthless and might as well not exist at all!"

As Taylor looked at Mao for help, she found that the girl has wandered off to Orthog's stall on the other side without her noticing. While she knew deep inside that Mao was only respecting her privacy and nothing more, she still felt betrayed a little bit.

"Besides, didn't Hakuryu avoid confronting you either?"

The question got Taylor thinking, her ire toward Yuuka forgotten before she shook her head in annoyance; "She's just carrying out Shinki's order to stay away from me."

Taylor aware in her mind that that Shinki never said anything of that sort; she only arranged for her to be living with Yang and Mao to stay away from the castle and only get there during work hours and magic lessons. She never forbids interaction or meeting between the two of them at all as far as she remembered.

"Truly?"

Her hesitation probably shown on her expression, as Yuuka's stare seemed to intensify as if accusing her of lying. Taylor tried to put up resistance, but it was futile. After a minute of intense stare, she relented and mumbled "She made it sounds like one."

Yuuka frowned at the admission before nodding "Be thankful that this's Shinki's domain, little one. If you're in the Eastern Wonderland or my pocket dimension, I'd turn you into an atomic mist for that… misinformation... And most Onis in that world will turn you into fertilizer for that offense too."

Taylor inwardly shuddered, somehow hearing such statement in a matter of fact tone was more terrifying than when said with anger.

Her expression once again betrayed her, as Yuuka giggled at the sight and calmed her down "Relax little one. I'm not the kind of person to fly off the handle and kill people for something that small. But that doesn't mean others wouldn't. So, be careful around other people all right?"

For some reason, Taylor felt that Yuuka intentionally left the advice vague. After all, it could be interpreted as either "Be honest" or "Do not get caught when lying" but she filed it to the back of her mind for the time being.

Yuuka, oblivious to Taylor's thought, continued her persuasion "If Shinki does not forbid you or Hakuryu from interacting, then is that means she wished for you two to reconcile?"

'Obviously.' Taylor thought silently.

Yuuka took that silence as an agreement however and pushed further; "I do not particularly care if the resulting talk between you and Hakuryu will result in anything, but I dislike people who keep running away from a problem that they can solve."

At this point, although Taylor agreed with what Yuuka has said, she still couldn't help but argue, barely suppressed her ire from seeping into her voice; "Back then and now is different."

Yuuka was nonplussed at the display of stubbornness, the façade Taylor put up couldn't fool someone of her experiences and age. But instead of getting annoyed, her lips curled into a smile and chuckled "Save your bravery for facing that white fox, little one. It's meaningless until you can face her and tell her to the face of what you think and what you want."

Taylor guessed from the tone used that the conversation was over. "Thank… I guess…"

That only made the flower seed store owner waved her hand in dismissal "If you want to thank me, do it after you build your courage and confront Hakuryu first."

Glancing around and spotted Mao waving her hand to call her over, Taylor decided that she was overstaying her welcome. She said farewell to the Elder Youkai and retreated before the latter could return the gesture.

As the two girls disappeared into the more crowded section of the square, Yuuka, who was once again alone at her stall, sighed while turning to look in the direction of the Pandemonium castle, as if to talk to the ruler herself.

"You're too soft, you know that?"

Yuuka paused as if waiting for a response that only she could hear before continued; "But who am I to judge? I don't even know what that girl's issue is with that fox is. So, best of luck, eh?"

She shrugged and went back to her stall once she noticed one boy was standing there and shot her a strange look, which she dismissed with a disarming smile "Boy, are you perhaps looking for some seeds or plants? Let me help you…"

Despite emboldened by Yuuka's words, Taylor didn't immediately wander the castle to seek out her nemesis to settle the score. It took another week of pondering on Yuuka's suggestion before she decided that it was the last day of the week where it was her shift at the castle that she would confront the fox and end it.

Of course, the fox being absent for the entire week running whatever errands for Shinki elsewhere was convenient too.

Taylor took a deep breath as she walked down the tower where her teleportation circle was located. Intending to settle the problem that still plaguing her mind since that day once and for all.

But her effort, unfortunately, was in vain. Despite cleaning and doing chores all around her responsible area for the whole day, there was not a shadow of the fox showing up in her vision. Asking the guards yielded no result as they didn't recall seeing her return.

Taylor kept up her guard the entire shift, but alas, her target never shows up the whole day and she once the shift was over, she headed back to the teleportation circle on the tower in disappointment.

'There's no class with Shinki tonight after all. Better back to sleep.' Taylor thought tiredly, her efforts of keeping her guard up to prepare for the fox while working the entire day was taking its toll on her, even each step upstairs felt like she was lifting a ton of lead despite the workload was the same as other days.

"Maybe the other day then…" Taylor muttered as she pushed the door to the top of the tower open. The sight of the reddish sky has been tarnished by black cloud signifying another rain some time tonight or tomorrow morning greeted her as per usual of this rainy season. But when she tore her wary gaze back to the contraption that will bring her back home, she froze mid-step at the sight that greeted her.

There was a figure in white contrast to the darkness of the sky standing there on top of the magical circle. The blue orbs seem to shine briefly when they found her standing still like a deer in a headlight at the door.

For a minute, the two of them stared, as if sizing each other up for the upcoming inevitable clash, and then the fox woman broke the silence first, speaking in her usual almost emotionless voice; "My men told me that you're looking for me." Her sharp gaze seemingly intensified. "Is there any problem?"

The tone of the question sounded different to Taylor's ears despite the tiredness, and she quickly spun on her heel with the barest hint of ruffling sound. Her fist clenched and stretched outward only to be caught in a vice grip a moment later.

"Your awareness has improved." The woman behind Taylor, or rather the Real Haku, commented as another Haku at the teleportation circle dissolved into light particles which dispersed into the wind "But I doubt that you sought me out only to show this improvement. So, what is it?"

Despite preparing for this eventuality for the whole day, Taylor was still frozen with indecision when her quarry appeared before her. Not just because of fear, but because what she heard from the fox sounded concerned which should be impossible.

After a long minute of silence, she finally said quietly "What… what are you playing at?"

It was brief, but Taylor swore that her eyes shifted to the side and then back in a blink for some reason. She doubted that the fox will answer, and she was tired, so she gets down to business; "What's the problem you have with me? Keep antagonizing me at every turn. What did I do to deserve that?"

She wished she could make her anger and frustration much clearer than that, but this was all she could manage at this point. Was this the fox's plan? Waiting until she exhausted before confronting her?

"You look tired. Should we postpone this for tomorrow? Wherever and whenever you choose. I will be there when the time comes."

Haku's response wasn't one that Taylor expected. Her voice shown concern about her wellbeing which never been there before. What was she doing…

"You're not in a proper state of mind to listen now. Anything I said will be like a dream come the next morning." Haku patiently explained in her usual almost emotionless voice. It made Taylor wary of trickery the fox was trying to pull even though she has a point.

'Wait…' Taylor's tired mind suddenly realizes; 'Why am I meeting her alone up here? I should meet her where everyone can see it, so no excuse for her for… whatever plan she's trying to do…'

"F… fine…" She spoke up finally "Tomorrow… before noon… Yang's house…" Taylor didn't get to finish her demand, as vision blackened and the ground rushed up to meet her, she was saved from impact by a pair of hands that shot up and stop her fall. The last thing she heard was the tail's end of Haku's muttering that sounded like; "…be there."

Taylor's woke up groggily to the rumble of the red sky signifying another incoming rainfall. She slowly sat up, blinked away her tear while her mind sluggishly rebooted, and tried to find out what happened and where was she.

"You're awake!"

A familiar voice reached her ears and she turned to the side and find that Mao was standing next to her bed, prompting a sleepy response. "What is it, Mao? I'm having a weird dream last night. I don't even remember how I get back here."

"Actually. Haku brought you back here. I and dad were worried that you've overworked yourself to exhaustion back there. But Lady Shinki doesn't seem to be the type."

It took a full minute for that name to slammed Taylor's last night memories back together with the force of a freight train. Taylor was wide awake and rounded on the girl next to her so fast that the latter quickly put her hands on her shoulders to stop her from standing up. "What do you mean Haku brought me back here?"

"Easy there, Taylor." Mao spoke while pushing Taylor to sit down on her bed "She's downstairs with dad. I'm here to look after you until you wake up. Oh, wait here I'll be right back with something to eat!"

Without waiting for a response, Mao bolted for the door and went downstairs, leaving Taylor sitting alone on her bed to collect her thought alone.

'So Haku brought me back here. But why? She's not the type to care, isn't she?'

The contemplation was halted when the sound of heavy footsteps echoed as someone walked up the stairs and approached her room. But when the door flung opened, Taylor let out a breath she was holding as it was only Mao with a bowl porridge, a cup of water, and eating utensils.

"T… Thanks."

Nothing else needs to be said as Mao retreated out of the room and leave Taylor with the food. The pleasant smell brought out a growl from her stomach telling her how hungry she was. With no reason to wait nor suspecting foul play; Taylor dug in and finished it in time before she felt another person approaching her room, and from the presence, it wasn't Mao's.

The door was knocked thrice, and then Haku's monotone voice announced her presence to Taylor "Can I come in?"

Taylor contemplated sending her off by claiming sick but decided against it a moment later when Yuuka's advice came to mind.

"You can come in."

Taylor wanted to put in harsher words just to vent her anger and frustration at the fox, but alas, nothing came out of her mouth as deep down she knew that it was uncalled for after the fox stopped antagonizing her for the last several months and even get her back here instead of leaving her in the castle, according to Mao that is.

The door pushed open silently before Haku, dressed conservatively in her usual blue and white oriental dress, slipped inside and shut the door behind with a click before she walked over to the bed Taylor was sitting on. Her blue eyes glanced at the chair that Mao once sat and then looked at Taylor as if asking for permission, though with that expressionless face of hers, it was hard to tell.

Taylor simply nodded while putting away the empty bowl, letting Haku put the seat on the opposite side of her bed and sat down facing her.

'Is it me hallucinating, or Haku seems calmer?'

Taylor eyed the fox woman with suspicion, albeit not as bad as during the 'Hell's week' which resulted in the current predicament due to what the fox supposedly helped her last night. But she wasn't sure what to say to Haku either; thank her? or continue their conversation from the last night? or… something?

It seems Haku wasn't much better than Taylor at starting a conversation too. And so, the two sat in awkward silence for minutes before Haku broke it first with her usual expressionless face and, if Taylor wasn't imagining it, concern laced in her voice; "How are you doing?"

Taylor wondered how to answer that question. for a moment, before she replied "I'm fine now… thank… you… for the concern…"

The latter half of her response was forced out with great effort, because part of her paranoia, diminished as it be, still whispering in her mind telling her that it was just an act despite the contradictory evidence.

Haku relaxed slightly judging how her ears drooped down instead of perking upright as if listening to something. Then the silence reigned for another minute before Haku broke it with a sigh; "It seems that apology is in order."

She bowed slightly, which surprised Taylor who, from her direct experience and what others talked about, didn't think she was the type to do that to anyone. Maybe it was because Yang told her to do it? But that was improbable because she wouldn't get into this squabble in the first place if that was the case, then what changed the woman's mind?

"It was… I felt restless at the time when the guard said that you were looking for me." Haku admitted with a straight face and voice that perfectly hiding her emotion, but Taylor was starting to feel that the apology was genuine. She still didn't explain the nastiness she displayed during their first meeting, however.

"So, to continue our conversation last night…" Haku finally brought up yesterday's incident "I know what I've done to you is wrong, but I won't make any excuses for something that already done."

"Then why?"

"Because… when I looked into your eyes for the first time, I saw my past self in there."

Haku's reply was a surprise to Taylor; from what interactions they had together, Taylor was certain that they had nothing alike at all.

"I want to ask you a question, Taylor." Haku responded when she saw the look on the younger girl's face and knew exactly what she was thinking "You think that I am a bully correct?"

Seeing the latter nod without hesitation, she asked. "Do you think I was born this way?"

While part of Taylor wanted to say "yes", the memories of betrayal, long since forgotten, surfaced back to her mind once more and she shook her head in response.

Haku closed her eyes, reminiscing of the past; "When I was the same age as you, I was bullied…"

Taylor's eyes widened, but it seems that Haku didn't care about her reaction and continued her tales "It's because of a belief among my kin, not that it was unfounded mind you, that someone with white fur and hair are the weakest. And they could rarely survive past their tenth birthday without dying."

Taylor couldn't imagine someone as strong as Haku being like that in the past at all. That also send a chill down her spine; if someone like Haku was considered a weakling to be bullied, then what kind of a monster her 'normal' kin would be?

Once again, as if reading her thought Haku reminded the girl with a deadpan "Must I repeat myself that I wasn't born strong?"

Taylor had enough decency to mutter a sorry in response, which Haku waved it off "I decided to become the strongest of my clan when my aunt, the only one I counted as family, took pity of me and started training me away from my clan's settlement."

Blue eyes glanced upward to the ceiling, it was the first time Taylor sees Haku reminiscing of her past, but she didn't seem to mind. Haku looked at Taylor straight in the eyes again as she continued "Thousands of years ago, mankind and our civilization weren't as you know in your future world; it was a world of dogs eat dogs, the strongest clan survived while the weak perished." Haku scoffed in disgust "And my clan was no exception. I decided that the best way to shut my family up is to crush the other clans by myself."

At this point, Taylor couldn't help but questioned herself; was her infuriation with heroism up to now was genuine, or it was a way to express something in her, something cultivated by those three bitches like how family abuse cultivated Haku to be a jerk?

Haku continued her story like she was oblivious to Taylor's thought or she didn't care about it "The weak will be purged, and the strongest will thrives, that was the belief I held back then. Women, children, elders, it doesn't matter so long as they were from the rival clans, I exterminated them all for the crime of being a weakling not of my clan."

Taylor felt unnerved by the admission; it was worse than Yang's past, it ranked up there with her bullies in terms of nastiness and cruelty. If this was Taylor when she first arrived, she would've branded Haku as a monster and cut all ties with Shinki for employing someone like her. But now, as she had time to calm down more than half a year, she could at least acknowledge that human at the time was not different than Haku, assuming that the timeline of her world aligned with this version of Earth that is.

Haku's eyes gained a remorseful look as she said the next part of her tales "In doing so, I've become the very thing I despise the most, but at the time I was intoxicated by the control I had over my life for the first time that all this flew over my head."

Taylor wasn't sure if that was meant to be a warning or not, but she knew it in her gut that the woman wasn't lying so far.

Haku let out a huff, not of arrogance, but disappointment. However, whether that disappointment was directed at the people of the distant past or herself, Taylor wasn't so sure; "Unfortunately, my actions were not well-received, those of my clan were unnerved of my rise of power and in their foolish pride and fear collaborated with other clans to have me and my aunt who taught me killed. And I guess you know how that went considered that I'm the only one standing here right now."

It wasn't a hard guess "A Trojan Horse…" Taylor muttered, which earned an affirmative nod from Haku, prompting her to ask "Is this supposed to be the lesson?"

"More than just getting drunk on power…" Haku replied calmly, slipping back into her neutral mask once more. Despite the earlier display of emotion, Taylor still feeling slightly unnerved at the woman as she explained "As I told you before; there're many types of weaklings out there. But there're many types of braveries as well. Your resolve to brave the violence is not in my question, as you demonstrated when we met back then…"

Taylor winced and avoided eye contact with the woman at the mention of her outburst from Haku's remarks back then. Now that her head was cooler, she could see why it was a shameful display on her part.

Haku waited until Taylor composed herself and look at her again before continued; "…however, it is pointless to turn to the outside threat when the inside is still in turmoil, as my experience could attest." she then added; "Without saying too much, I'd tell you about the strongest enemy anyone has to face isn't some supervillains or evil overlords hell-bent on domination or extermination of all good, and this enemy is very close to all of us."

Taylor looked confused over her words, but Haku kept her silence after that and won't elaborate. The maid pondered the rest of the conversation for a long while before she glared at the fox and ground out; "You could just tell me this back then instead of handing me that stupid, rigged test."

Haku nodded and questioned back calmly; "I didn't listen to my aunt when I went off to eliminate other clans back then, so I doubt that you'd settle with just a word from a stranger like me."

Taylor frowned, while part of her wanted nothing more than tell Haku to get out of her room, another part told her to be reasonable, going so far as to said that she was better than those staff in Winslow already, albeit that wasn't a high bar to cross.

"Maybe you're right, maybe you're not…" Taylor finally spoke up after thinking a bit, her face settled in a frustrated scowl "I have to wonder how Yang put up with you."

Her scathing remark didn't draw any reaction from Haku except a silent deadpan. And it was enough to tell Taylor to drop the subject. Her mother taught her better than to pry someone's secret, especially when it involved someone she's in debt with like the old man and his daughter who were probably down in the clinic below.

And it was this feeling of indebting that pushed her to give Haku a chance.

"Anyway," Taylor changed the subject after her minds finished warring on what to do next, her tone takes on a slightly friendlier tone, "I think that we should start things over, now that there are no more pressing matters that you have to juggle around…"

Her sudden change of mood caused Haku to raise her eyebrows a little but didn't reply, prompting Taylor to offered her a hand and asked cheerily "So, my name is Taylor Hebert, please to meet you and hope we can become a good acquaintance in near future."

The surprise etched on Haku's face and the widened blue eyes were more than enough to convince Taylor that at the very least her bravery was worth it to see Haku's mask breaking down like that. But part of her still wondered whether Haku will return the offer of goodwill or not.

Haku brought her mood under control a moment later when she realized that Taylor was watching. She glared at the cheeky brat but said glare didn't look intimidating at all in Taylor's opinion, not after seeing her shocked expression earlier.

After a moment of tense silence, Haku's glare visibly softened as she muttered "You're just as stubborn as I was back then…"

And it was Taylor's turn to surprise when Haku's hand shot out and grabbed the offered hand without warning. The grip wasn't painful like she was half-expected the fox to try and get back at her, and when she looked up from her hand at Haku again, she swore that she saw the fox's lips curved up a little bit and even her voice gained a warmer tint;

"Very well, I, Haku, am pleased to meet you. Hopefully, we'll get acquainted in time."

Taylor's smile widened a little as she realized that the elders she met in this world were right about the fox she was shaking hand with all along…

This didn't mean she'd forget what Haku has done, just forgive her. Only time will tell if they will become closer in the future…

Author's Note: I believe that since we do not see anything from Haku's perspective during the time Taylor was with Yang so the change of heart (kind of) may come off as strange. But as Taylor had time to cool her head off with Yang for almost half a year, Haku too has time to ponder thing when she wasn't busy for half a year as well.