As Sayaka headed back to the woods after leaving her house the next day, she bumped into an Elf.
The Elf had brown hair and blue eyes, she seemed nervous and apprehensive.
"Lady Momobami, I need your help!" the Elf said.
"Who...who are... you?" Sayaka stuttered, taken aback by this sudden request for assistance.
"There are a group of Tanukis chasing me and I need to return home immediately!"
"Your home? The Celestial Reach?"
"Yes! Please lead me there!"
"Very well."
The innocent-minded wife of the Queen began to lead the Elf towards the portal to The Celestial Reach, when her lily necklace suddenly turned ice-cold. She gasped softly. Her neckalce was a gift from her wife, the Queen, it would turn ice-cold in the presence of a Tanuki. Sayaka was so caught up in helping the Elf that she failed to feel the temperature of her necklace. She immediately panciked and stopped.
"Lady Momobami, what's wrong?" the Elf said.
Tears sprung up in the young woman's eyes. 'Kirari...what do I do? I need you...'
"You didn't sense a Tanuki did you?" the Elf said. Sayaka tensed as she heard the unsheathing of a sword. She turned in terror to see the Elf morph into her true form. The Queen's wife immediately sent a feeling of terror and fear to her mate through their emotional connection. The emotions just reached Kirari just as the Tanuki stabbed the young woman in the chest, earning her a cry of pain, before teleporting her to the Tanuki Realm.
By the time the Queen arrived, all she saw was warm blood on the cold snow.
Mary gasped in shock, just hearing the sounds from what happened in the past made it more horrifying for her.
Beside her, she heard whimpers from Aethelsa and felt a shudder from Ren.
The scene shifted once again.
*****
Sayaka woke to find herself in a tall glass chamber. She immediately went into a panic attack and struggled to breathe properly.
"Chief, she's having a panic attack."
That voice......it was the Tanuki who tricked her.
The Tanuki stepped forward, smirking cruelly at the young wife of the Queen.
"So this is Kirari's most beloved treasure," she said. "Fear not, when we are done with you, we will definitely return your body to her."
That did not help with Sayaka's panic attack at all.
"Y-y-you......who are you?" Sayaka said between gasps for air.
"Who am I? I am Amanozako, named after the monstrous goddess from Japanese mythology," the Tanuki stated proudly. "I'm here to clarify a few things with you, you are human right?"
"Yes," the woman replied timidly.
A blast of electricity struck her and she screamed in agony. Blous spilled from her mouth and she whimpered, clutching the necklace for comfort.
"Speak louder please," Amanozako said. "Or there will be consequences. I'll let you off this time though, due to your pretty face." she winked at Sayaka. "So, you are a human, but you have an older sister who is a Kitsune, Sachiko Juraku," Amanozako mused. "Funny that until now, no one has ever deteacted the powerful Kitsune magic running in your veins. It has been dormant for many years, even we Tanuki nearly missed it. However, we need power to take over The Celestial Reach and defeat Kirari Momobami. Your power is stronger than everyone in the Kingdom, even stronger that Sachiko and Ririka Momobami, but still second to Kirari's. No matter, we know what to do. However, once again, we have not seen the dull extent of Kirari's powers, even when she wiped out our Kingdom five years ago----literally just by swishing her arm, ----the Chief sensed a stronger power in her, so yours might not be enough, but it'll do for now."
'Defeat Kirari? What will they do to her? I didn't...I didn't mean to be the burden and cause that will lead to her demise...I didn't mean to......' Tears spilled down Sayaka's cheeks. 'This is my fault...now Kirari will... Kirari might......'
"Alright, you've scared her enough," another voice said, a hint of a smile in his voice.
The Chief of the Tanukis, Aoi Mibuomi, stepped forward, his light brown hair shining in the dim light.
"Hello, Momobami Sayaka," he said, chuckling. "I can see why Kirari chose you, intelligent and such a pretty face, it's unfortunate though, that you joined the wrong side. I hope you keep quiet when we rip out that beautiful heart of yours."
*****
Mary trembled.
This was awful, everything about this was awful, no wonder Yumeko and the others said that she was brutally killed, they must've......such cruelty......
"Suddenly, she heard Ren's voice in her mind. "Are you alright? Do you want to continue, or......?"
"I'm fine," Mary said dismissively. "Let's continue."
*****
Unbeknowest to Sayaka, Kirari caught a glimpse of her memories.
*****
Sayaka opened her eyes slowly, inhaling in her wife's scent, she smelt like home.
"You're awake, Sayaka," Kirari said softly, "Did you have a good nap."
"Hmm," her wife replied, closing her eyes again before opening them and giving her a kiss on the cheek. "I'm fine, but you look......startled. Is something wrong?"
"Did...you think that you were a burden to me?" Kirari said, her eyes narrowing slightly. "I do remember telling you before that you are not to think this lowly of yourself,my darling."
Sayaka flinched.
"You...how did you..."
It happened in one swift motion.
Kirari pinned her wife to the ground, their faces closed together.
"You have never been a burden to me, Momobami Sayaka, and you are certainly not at fault should I meet my demise."
Sayaka's lips trembled as tears flowed down her cheeks. "No...it's...it's my fault...it's because of me that......I'm sorry, I didn't mean to give them an advantage over......"
She was abruptly cut off by her wife's lips on hers.
Kirari pulled away and held her wife's shoulders and flipping onto her own back, such that Sayaka lay on top of her.
"No, you are not to blame yourself for anything, ever," the Queen said gently, but firmly, as she lifted her wife's face to look at her. "You're the only one I want, no one can be my wife but you, I love you, Sayaka, and it hurts me to see you blame yourself like this."
The Queen's wife started to cry again, clinging onto the Queen as if for dear life, as she sobbed into her shoulder.
After a while, she pulled away.
"I'm sorry for ruining your, um," she said, cheeks turning pink.
The Queen laughed and embraced her, reassuring her,"Leave it, it matters not to me. What I want is for you to promise me that you will never think this way again."
Sayaka paused, before asking quietly, "Am I...worth it?"
Kirari leaned her forehead against hers.
"You are. You are worth the world to me, you are my everything. I love you. You need not doubt yourself."
Hearing this, the Queen's wife nodded, silently promising her wife.
*****
Meanwhile, Kanako started to slap herself repeatedly as she continued to listen to Sachiko's ramblings.