Neko Stories

Epilogue

Part 1

3rd Person POV

A single day went by and Yasaka felt like resisting for a few minutes sounded like a sweet temptation. The damage reports were stockpiling on her desk in real time and she only managed to sit on her trusty chair a second ago.

"...if I burn the papers and leave not even the ashes, could it be possible to make it like they were never delivered?" Yasaka pondered with a serious face.

"There is no way that is true."

A familiar voice interrupted her thoughts by smacking her head.

"Ouch." Yasaka grunted from pain. "Asamiya... I am the ruler of the youkais of the west, a little respect would be..."

"My apologies, but you were acting unbecoming of one." Asamiya replied. "It reminded me of your younger self so I acted as I did back then."

Smiling wryly, Yasaka recalled those good old times, she met Saya back then and many things happened. The damned Forest Wraith caused a lot of headaches for her dear mother but he was there to let her part of this world at peace so Yasaka can only be grateful.

"Besides, that comment, I wonder if you are getting corrupted by spending so much time with that child..." Asamiya sighed. "My apologies, that was a rather uncouth comment considering his state."

Noticing the darkening expression on the other party, Asamiya swiftly apologized.

No matter how much the nine-tailed fox denied it, Yasaka shared a special bond with that nekomata, one that could not be easily explained, and despite their banters sometimes, Asamiya could recognize the budding feelings that Yasaka had been developing towards the boy. Considering her image, Asamiya wanted the blonde one to keep things under the table until he at least passed his first mating season, that way, strange rumors about their ruler's preference will not surface around the youkais. That said, Asamiya had noticed that the boy was rather considerate to not push it to that point, even resorting to humoring the situation to avoid any damage to Yasaka's reputation. Nonetheless, he was young and there had been times went he was too direct about his desire for the blonde kitsune.

Nora Shiki, the child of Saya Shiki, was a rather strange and precocious child in the eyes of many, but an experienced woman such as Asamiya could tell that he was more than that. It was at one time she had some time to observe him closely, Asamiya noticed his peculiarities. She ran investigations hidden from everyone and found several theories to explain his differences. Nonetheless, Asamiya was not willing to share it with anyone after Saya noticed her actions and even warned her, no, the correct words would be threatening to dispose of her. Asamiya had been baffled by the sudden outburst of animosity when she had not even been hostile to him, but she could understand the affection a mother had for her children so she mentioned it to her, but Saya did not allow her to finish, the nekoshou was adamant on trusting the boy to tell her if he had something to say and would wait all the time in the world until he was able to come true. Without a doubt, Saya had been aware of his strangeness, and sometime later Saya stood in front of her and stated that the boy would never harm Yasaka, Asamiya found it odd that she sounded excessively jealous about it, but decided to ignore it given the usual chaotic behavior of the nekoshou. The important issue was that she even dared to use the name of Yasaka's mother to bet that he was trustworthy and would benefit Urakyoto.

"...at this point, I am not sure if she was right or not, but he has proven to be able to go through a lot to save his people. If he could widen his range of protection, he would do well if he has to stand..." Asamiya mumbled in a low tone.

It was hard to deny how much the kitsune in front of her had gotten entangled with the boy, but the person in question seemed obvlious to it. Should Asamiya be glad that she did not foolishly let her desires blossom widely and make her instincts go wild, or should she feel sorry for the boy who gets constantly rejected? The point was that he was unconscious and it made Yasaka's mood dampen, even if he was safe, Asamiya noticed the state of his body. She can be certain that he managed to survive by nothing but a miracle. Asamiya could not use another term for it, after all, his enemy was vicious enough to aim for his heart. Given the size of the scar, Asamiya wondered if his enemy would be scared to know that he survived.