Chapter 23:
The morning after experiencing Akiba’s wares, and tiring themselves out, Yuka felt as if she could sleep for the next couple of days, but for some reason, something kept brushing against her nose. Raising the hand that was laying comfortably on Kumi’s back, she brushed whatever it was away, but it persisted.
Irritated, she opened her eyes to see a white fluffy object floating before her face. ‘Huh?’ Allowing her eyes to fully adjust, she found an unfamiliar tail before her. Following the tail, it lead to the sleeping Kitsune’s lower back. Taking a deep breath, she slow exhaled.
“Kumi…” She called out weakly, unaware she was in for for another surprise. Seeing her mate was still asleep, she called out for her again, this time getting a response from the sleepy girl.
“What? Is something wrong?” Kumi asked, sitting up on Yuka’s body, a raising a hand to wipe the sleep out of her eyes. “Why are you staring at me like that?”
Yuka’s eyes were locked on the white, furry ears sitting on her mate’s head. “Y-you changed again.”
Kumi tilted her head, before looking behind herself, there she saw one of her missing her tails. “I guess I did.” She turned to face her shewolf.
Unable to keep her hand to herself, Yuka reached out to touch the kitsune’s ears, they matched the color of her mate’s tail, effectively standing out. “That tickles you know.” Kumi giggled, swiping Yuka’s hand away with her own tail, before retreating it back to her own body, wrapping it around her nude form, and nuzzling it.
Yuka just sat there staring, she had no idea how much of an effect the extra features would have on her, she felt her mind shut down on her, words failing her. All she wanted to do was touch her mate, and discover more of her.
“Yuka?” Kumi called out.
The shewolf hummed out absentmindedly in response, her darkened eyes raking down Kumi’s body, before she lifted her gaze back, and looked her mate in the eyes.
“Did the change affect you so much? I’m still the same person. I still don’t know what caused the change…” She trailed off, before blushing to herself, wondering if last night had anything to do with her sudden change. Still she was happy that she had her tail back. Feeling a hand on her waist, broke her of her thoughts, as she saw the hungry look on the wolf’s face.
Any trace of sleepiness from last night vanished from the shewolf, as she licked her lips. Kumi’s worry that Yuka would treat her differently now was replaced by something else.
“Y-yuka?” Kumi called out nervously, she felt a little scared at the way Yuka was looking at her. She felt trapped under the shewolf’s gaze and the way Yuka’s eyes would rake over her body made her feel more exposed even without her clothes on. She had the urge to run, her legs and tail twitched nervously at the urge but at the same time she felt a throb of arousal from her center.
Yuka didn’t answer and instead turned her mate around so that Kumi was laying on her stomach. She moved on top of the kitsune, her gaze roving on her bondmate’s prone form, admiring the smooth skin of Kumi’s back, the mehndi she’d painted on her mate’s back and the curve of Kumi’s butt.
Kumi swallowed hard, Yuka still hadn’t said anything and she could practically feel the shewolf’s presence looming over her. She swished her tail nervously, accidentally brushing her tail against Yuka’s body and making the shewolf shiver at the sensation. She was about to call out to the shewolf again but a gasp came out of her mouth instead. Yuka had started nibbling on Kumi’s ear and the wonderful sensation had her lift her tail unconsciously as well as her hips towards Yuka.
The shewolf’s took it as a chance to nudged Kumi’s legs apart with a knee with her hand moving towards her mate’s center, causing Kumi to let a long moan. The kitsune was a little sore from last night but she could barely feel the ache over the pleasure that she was feeling.
“Keep that tail lifted.” Yuka growled out, revelling at the feeling of her mate around her fingers. “I have a lot of plans for you.”
--
It was late afternoon that the newly bonded couple emerged from their tent but before they exited, Kumi had fretted about her new ears and tail. Yuka had assured and reminded Kumi that having a new tail and ears wouldn’t be a problem for her clan, they were shewolves after all and they were born with it and that her surrogate parents would still accept her as she is. Maybe Miyuki will start petting on Kumi’s tail too just like she does with Sayaka’s.
Yuka walked out of the tent first and a moment later Kumi gingerly followed after her. She was clutching on her tail a bit anxiously, looking around for any danger or negative reactions from the shewolves around.
“Can’t we just stay inside?” Kumi folded her ears and pouted towards Yuka. The shewolf nearly said yes, she wouldn’t mind staying in their tent forever with her worshipping her mate’s body but they had to keep their appearances or Sakae might think they were dead.
“It will be fine.” Yuka reassured once again, holding out a hand for Kumi to take and when her kitsune did, she started to lead them towards the food tent. It was late in the afternoon and there won’t be that many people in there, or so she hoped.
Around them they could hear shewolves murmuring about themselves, it made Kumi a bit nervous and she was glad that Yuka was there for her.
“Relax.” Yuka squeezed her mate’s hand, chuckling a bit at how adorable her mate was being. “Their saying you're adorable and… looks like someone lost a bet too. They were betting on when we will come out from our tent. I think they’re mostly surprised at what you look like.”
“Really?”
“Yes, really. You were adorable from the start and now I think you’ve charmed them all.” They reached the food tent and the shewolf held the flap open for her mate. “If we weren’t mated, I would have to fight off a long line of suitors for you.”
Kumi blushed and entered the tent. They found the table that they had pretty much claimed as their own, since Sayaka and Miyuki’s arrival, and seated themselves on the cushions with Yuka making sure that her mate was comfortable.
“I’ll see what they have and pick out your favorites.”
Kumi nodded as Yuka left her on the table, she was a little less nervous than before but she still clutch her tail for safety. It had been a long time since she felt her own fur under her touch and she missed her tails dearly, they were a perfect cushion for sleeping anywhere as well as for staying warm. She guessed that the rest of her tails will return in time or maybe when they keep using more of Akiba’s elixir. She hid her smile behind her tail, maybe Yuka won’t mind if they keep using it.
“Kumi!” The kitsune heard before she was smothered in an embrace, her nose caught Miyuki’s scent and she immediately returned the hug. “My little baby!”
“Miyuki, you didn’t give birth to her.” Sayaka drawled out.
Miyuki’s hold on Kumi tightened around Kumi. “Don’t listen to Sayaka, you’re not adopted.”
Kumi blinked at her surrogates odd behavior, they were in an unusually good mood but chalked it up to them probably having a good time last night. She could smell their scent on each other and Kumi wondered if they also used the elixir from Akiba, she blushed at the memory of what she and Yuka had done the night before.
“Kumi…” Sayaka called out and the kitsune braced herself. “...is that a tail?”
Miyuki pulled back and was finally able to see the new additions to Kumi’s head and back.
“Oh… you have a tail and ears like Sayaka…” The human’s eyes widened and she took Kumi’s tail in her hands, stroking the soft downy tail. Kumi tried to take her tail back but Miyuki held on to it lovingly.
“Sayaka sit next to me.” Miyuki ordered, nuzzling the kitsune’s tail.
“What?”
“Do it.” Miyuki glared and the shewolf quickly seated herself next to Miyuki. Her mate immediately had her own tail in her mate’s hands.
“So soft…” Miyuki murmured, holding both tails in her hands.
The kitsune looked over at Sayaka and the shewolf just shrugged. “It’s a thing she likes.”
Yuka returned with the food to find Miyuki with a look of bliss on her face and her fellow Alpha glaring angrily at her, as if blaming her for something she’d done. She just wasn’t sure what it was. Yuka looked at her bondmate but Kumi was busy still trying to rescue her tail from Miyuki’s clutches.
“Hello…” She swallowed nervously, setting their food down on the table. “Sayaka, Miyuki how was your night?”
“Just fine.” Sayaka answered. “And yours?”
Yuka grinned, thinking that maybe she was just imagining Sayaka trying to cut her up with glares. “Wonderful, ju-”
“What did you do to Kumi?”
“Uh… nothing?” Yuka answered. Truthfully, she had done a lot of things to her bondmate already but she didn’t Sayaka would appreciate hearing all the raunchy details.
“Sayaka!” Kumi called out in a scolding tone, her surrogate parent was harassing Yuka again. “I’m a kitsune. I also have the same features of your people but mine is taking a while to show.”
“I’m sorry, little one.” Sayaka apologized, she didn’t want her little girl’s ire on her. “What do you mean it will take a while to show?”
Kumi tried to recall everything she knew about her race, even though she’d regained her memory there are things that are hard to remember such as a thousand year worth of memories. “We can’t shift as easily as you do and I’m still recovering that’s why my tails and ears will take a while to return.”
Sayaka nodded, it looks like Kumi’s race were more complicated than her own. “You have more than one tail?”
“I have nine.” Kumi answered and Sayaka was amazed, from what she understood from Kumi’s explanation from before, having several tails was a sign of long life and immense power.
“So when you recover all your tails, you’ll be able to repeat what you did on the day of the battle?”
Kumi shrugged. “Maybe but it needs a very powerful will and emotion for it to happen again. I… I only wished you to be alive but I wasn’t able to control that’s why other people were revived.”
Sayaka smiled slightly at her little girl, she was touched that Kumi cared for so much that the kitsune had brought her back from death. She wanted to hug Kumi and tell her that she won’t die again, she promised to Miyuki and now she’ll keep that promise for Kumi also.
“Ah… so soft.” Miyuki murmured again, blissfully cuddling Sayaka and Kumi’s tails.
“Is she going to be alright?” Yuka asked, surreptitiously moving her tail away from the human’s line of sight.
Sayaka sighed. “In a little while.”
--
The following week after the festivities had been spent preparing for Yuka and Kumi’s departure to Namba. In any other circumstances, the departure of Sakae’s new Alpha would have been condemned by the other caravan leaders and would have even ousted Yuka from her position. Just for leaving so quick after they’ve reunited Sakae. But after spending a day with the caravan leaders arguing and debating they all came to an understanding, the threat in Namba needed to be put to a stop immediately. If they didn’t the humans would start hunting down any wolf they say and, if they ever figure it out, they might start looking for the clans.
Sakae was already suspicious for their caravans composing of women only and would most likely be the first target. So, having Yuka’s full attention on this matter is needed, it’s not only for the safety of humans being attacked but also for the future of their race.
Afterwards, the caravan leaders were more amenable. They had nearly agreed almost immediately to all the laws that Yuka and the Sato sisters suggested with only questions on who their superiors are. Yuka knew that the caravan leaders were nervous about their positions but she had no intention in changing the way Sakae lives their lives, she simply wanted a more unified government and had appointed that all caravan leaders as part of Sakae’s new Council.
It will be easier to keep track of all the caravans they have and to address any problem that may arise, As the new Council their first action was to strengthen Sakae’s borders, they needed to watching who goes in and out within their territories. They needed to protect themselves from any threat whether it’s from their own kind or from humans.
With the meeting finally over, Yuka stood by the tent’s exit receiving farewells from each caravan leader and some were congratulating her over her recent bonding with Kumi. They had spent nearly half a day just for that meeting and she was exhausted already, all she wanted to do right now was curl up against her mate and talk about their pup or train with her student.
“That went better than I expected.” Yuka commented when she was sure that the other caravan leaders were gone.
“They know who you are and what you can do. I don’t think any of them are brave enough to question your decisions. They respect you.” Mieko answered, she was about to place her hands on Yuka’s shoulders to help Yuka wind down, just as she usually did but remembered that was what Kumi does now.
‘Old habits die hard, I guess.’ She thought to herself. She’ll miss the days when her best friend would turn to her but Kumi made her leader happy and smile much more. So, Mieko didn’t mind giving up that spot.
“Is there anything else we need to discuss?” Yuka asked after a moment.
“You’ll be leaving for Namba soon, right?”
Yuka nodded, she turned to her eldest advisor. “Will you be alright if I’m gone and where’s your sister? I haven’t seen her since we started this meeting.”
“She’s…” Mieko blushed, she still remembered what had happened during the celebration but she wasn’t sure if her sister did. Seira always forgets what she’d done after a night of drinking. “...around but you should stop worrying about us!”
“I can’t help it, this will be the second time I’ll be away from Sakae and I still don’t know what to expect, even more now with the current situation we have to deal with.”
Mieko let out a small laugh, patting Yuka’s shoulder. “You’ll be fine, you always prepare for anything.”
“I hope so.”
“Now don’t you have a bondmate to dote on or a student to throw on the ground?”
The look on Yuka’s turned more serious. She needed her mate more and Jurina, her student can wait just a little bit. “I should go.”
--
While Yuka was away Kumi had been trying to sort through the gifts that the caravan leaders had given but she had a feeling that even if she spent several days sorting through them it would have been impossible.
Her stomach growled, reminding her that she hadn’t eaten since breakfast. She stretched, letting out a satisfied sigh as she heard the pops from her joints and left the tent, her tail swishing behind her. The kitsune was greeted by Yuka’s guards, she smiled shyly at them and one of them started to follow her surreptitiously. As part of their pact to protect Yuka and all that Sakae’s Alpha held dearly, they would also protect Kumi and would lay down their lives for the kitsune.
Kumi reached the food tent without much trouble, she was already used to the winding and sometimes labyrinth like paths of the camp that she was confident enough not to get lost. She was greeted by Tani, who she recognized as one of Rena’s assistants though the shewolf preferred to be called sidekicks.
“Kumi-san! Kumi-san! Kumi-san! Kumi-san! Kumi-san!” Tani waved her hand around wildly, causing many of the shewolves in the area to look at the kitsune.
Kumi quickly walked towards where Tani was having her over, ducking her head down a bit from embarrassment just as her ears folded then stopped Tani from practically tearing off her own arm from waving too much.
“Tani, calm down!” Kumi admonished, peeking over her shoulder a bit. “Now everyone is looking at me!”
“That’s because you’re cute and you have a tail and ears! Just like us!” Tani grinned. “But not as cute as me!”
Kumi frowned at the shewolf’s audacity but let it slide. She didn’t come here to chat but to feed the monster in her stomach and the longer the talked the higher the risk of her getting a headache “Whatever you say, Tani. So what’s on today’s menu?”
“The usual but Nakanishi-san said that you can ask anything that you want.” The shewolf smiled widely at Kumi.
Kumi looked over the food available but found none of them were appetizing, some of them actually made her feel queasy. Kumi was taking too long to choose the food she wanted to eat and Tani surreptitiously started to put out the favorite foods that Yuka had told her to make but the kitsune ignored them.
“Kumi-san?” Tani called out nervously, she wasn’t sure what else to do now. Yuka had instructed her to give whatever the kitsune wanted but Kumi hadn’t said anything since she started looking. “If there’s anything you want, I can just make it really quickly! Kaotan, Dasu and I are the best cooks when all three of us were assigned to kitchen duty!”
As if on cue, two shewolves showed up behind Tani and grinned at the kitsune.
“We’ll make anything you want!” All three of them implored, causing Kumi to reel back a bit and the rest of the shewolve’s in the food tent to look on worriedly.
“Um…” Kumi thought long and hard for what she wanted. Nothing on the menu appealed to her but there was something that she wanted. “Can you make deep fried pickles?”
The cooks nodded slowly, unsure if that was healthy for the pregnant kitsune. Kumi smiled at them before adding more to her order. “Poached eggs and mashed potatoes-”
“With gravy?” Tani asked, hoping this was a normal order.
Kumi shook her head. “I think I’d like it with some caramel sauce a whole jar of it.”
“Are you sure?” Dasu asked.
“Yes.”
“Well…” Kaotan looked at her fellow cooks and found them glaring at her. She was the pickiest one when it comes to food. “We’ll bring them to you as soon as we can.”
Kumi whispered a thank you before looking around for a table and barely a second later she spotted Jurina waving her over. The kitsune couldn't help but study the young shewolf, noticing the tired look in her eyes and the way her shoulder slumped. As soon as she sat down, she opened her mouth. “Rough night?”
“You could-” Jurina yawned before continuing. “say that. Rena wasn’t feeling well, so I spent most of the night taking care of her. She’s so stubborn!” She vented, laying herself on Kumi’s lap without invitation, ever since the time she was forced to, she has made it a habit to do so whenever Yuka wasn’t around.
Kumi allowed her hand to come to rest in Jurina’s short locks, her fingers threading through the hair carefully, occasionally being caught on a knot, but a few tugs and it would go through.
“So you played the doting mate last night huh?” Kumi asked, giggling at the blush that spread on Jurina’s face.
“Dont say that!”
“What? Mate? But you are eventually going to bond right?”
Jurina sat up, looking more embarrassed than before. “I don’t know. She claims I’m too young right now, but I dont know! If she wants to we can…”
“Can what?” Rena’s voice suddenly appeared, causing the two to turn towards the source. Jurina turned pale, as if she saw a ghost, and started sending ‘help me’ glances at Kumi.
“Jurina was telling me about her and Yuka’s training. Something about doubling the efforts in the strength, poor pup is getting soft up here.” The kitsune lied, as she pinched Jurina’s arm to show proof.
Raising an eyebrow, Rena accepted the answer, before clearing her throat. “Jurina…” She called to the younger shewolf. “Thank you for taking care of me last night. I’m just not used to it.”
“It’s fine!” Jurina replied, moving off Kumi to return to her seat. “How are you?”
Rena nodded to Kumi in greeting as she sat down. “Much better thank you.”
“Have you eaten yet?” Jurina asked again, eager to still help Rena and for them to get along.
Rena shook her head and Jurina started to ask what kind food she wanted to eat. Kumi watched the exchange with a blank look on her face, she only wanted to eat food. After finding out what Rena wanted Jurina went to collect it, leaving Kumi alone with the other Matsui.
“She’s trying.” Rena stated, breaking the silence between her and Kumi.
“And you?”
Rena frowned, watching Jurina move around in a frantic pace while carrying a tray. It was amazing that the young shewolf hadn’t dropped it yet with how careless she moved about.
“I’m not used to us getting along and she’s still too young.” She looked at Kumi. “I think I’d like to wait a little longer before going any further.”
Jurina returned and behind her Tani was carrying the food Kumi requested, she didn’t look as energetic when the kitsune spoke to her earlier. The shewolf placed the food in front of Kumi, giving her a small smile. “Anything else, Kumi-san?”
“I’m fine for now.” Kumi replied and Tani rushed back to where she was stationed. She was about to dig into her food when she noticed the other shewolves sharing her table looking at her dish curiously. “You want some?”
“What is it?” Rena inquired.
There was nothing out of the ordinary from Kumi’s plate, in fact it looked like the kitsune was having tempura but the smell that wafted off from tickled Rena’s nose in an unpleasant way. There was a separate plate of half a dozen poached eggs but Rena was worried of the container next to it.
The former rivals glanced at each other for a brief moment before politely declining Kumi’s offer. Kumi shrugged and started to check on the condiments placed in the middle of the table, she found them all nauseating, in the end she picked up the fish sauce and poured a liberal amount on her pickles. While Rena and Jurina watched in horror as Kumi started eating.
Yuka finally entered the food tent after following her mate’s scent and with a quick scan of the tent, she started to make her way towards the table where her mate and student was. She smiled at the shewolves that had greeted her along the way, the way that she was treated was no different when she was only minding her own caravan.
She sat next to Kumi and the kitsune turned to face her to give the shewolf a quick kiss on the cheek. When Kumi pulled away to return to her food, Yuka’s face had turned to a grimace and the shewolf finally took a good look at what her mate was eating.
“Kumi…” Yuka called out. “What are you eating?”
“Deep fried pickles and some fish sauce.” Kumi cut a piece for Yuka and held it out for the shewolf. She wanted her bondmate to taste this wonderful dish. “Do you want some?”
“Uh…” Yuka glanced behind Kumi to see Jurina and Rena looking at her with horrified faces. “I’m okay… aren’t you hungry?”
“It’s fine. I want you to try some!” Kumi moved the fork closer to Yuka. “They’re delicious!”
Yuka looked at the way her mate was looking at her earnestly, the way Kumi was looking at her tugged at her heartstrings. This would be a perfect moment for Kumi to order her whatever she wanted and Yuka would do so without any question. Be it her mate ask her to count the stars during day time or run screaming through her camp naked, she should do so.
Just for Kumi.
The shewolf opened her mouth and Kumi fed Yuka the piece she was willing to share then went back to eating her food. Not bothering to see how the shewolf would react. Yuka held pickle in her mouth, too scared to bite into or swallow it. Though Kumi’s attention might no longer be on her but she didn’t want to hurt her mate by spitting it out.
She slowly started to chew on it, the taste made her insides curl but she held back her grimace. The shewolf curled her ears and her tail wrapped itself around her protectively. Jurina could only watch in horror, as her teacher suffered at the mercy of the odd food combination, she was grateful that she didn’t have to experience that.
After swallowing down the disgusting mixture, Yuka searched around for something to drink, and found someone’s abandoned mug. Usually she wouldn’t use someone elses mug, but this was a dire time. She drank and drank, until she couldn't taste anything anymore.
“How was it?” Kumi asked, as she looked up from her food, noticing her mate looked a bit out of breath.
Swallowing again, Yuka glanced at her mate. “It was...different.” A moment later, a bubble formed in the shewolf’s stomach, and she hunched over in agony. The small offering managed to upset her stomach to a whole new level, it was worse than the week Jurina wanted to try cooking when she was younger.
Seeing Yuka in distress, Jurina offered a way out by mentioning she needed help with something. The plan almost failed when Rena offered to help, but she soon realized what was happening and took back her offer.
“Have fun.” Kumi waved them off, leaving the hungry Kitsune with Rena, who was still eating as well, her food was covered in the spicy sauce she adored, and was in no hurry to finish, she wanted to savor every bite.
“Are you alright?” Jurina asked as soon as they left the tent. She was about to look at her teacher but the shewolf wasn’t by her side as she had thought. “Yuka?”
She looked around frantically for the older shewolf and her ears caught the sound of someone moaning in pain nearby. The young general followed the sound and she found Yuka curled on the ground, tail wrapped protectively around herself.
“I guess you’re not alright.” Jurina muttered, kneeling next to her teacher so she could help her up. She wrapped Yuka’s arm around her shoulder, grunting a bit in the effort to pick the shewolf up. “I think it’s best that we go the medic’s tent.”
Yuka only groaned in response as Jurina started to drag her away.
“In a few days… you and Kumi will be leaving, along with Sayaka and Miyuki, right?” Jurina asked but didn’t get any reply from her teacher. She led them through less crowded pathways and avoided the ones commonly used by everyone else, seeing their leader at this state won’t be good for morale. “So, it will be me, Seira, Mieko and Rena to keep an eye on Sakae.”
Yuka straightened up as best as she could, halting both her and Jurina. She turned to her student, she knew what Jurina was up to. The young shewolf was stalling or was trying to find a way to say what she wanted. “Speak your mind, pup.”
The younger shewolf looked away, biting her lip nervously. When Yuka had told them that she would be leaving it remind her of the time that the shewolf suddenly disappeared from her life. She’d woken up that morning, wondering where Yuka was and the Sato sisters too, and by the time she realized that they had left; Jurina had spent the rest of the day crying out for Yuka. It hurt her that her teacher never came no matter how loud she howled.
“Jurina…” Yuka’s hand went up to her student’s cheek wiping away the tears that she young shewolf hadn’t noticed. “I’m won’t be leaving forever. I won’t leave you again. I promised you, remember?”
Jurina nodded, her tears were flowing freely. “I know… but I can’t help it.”
The older shewolf pulled her student close, tucking Jurina’s head under her chin. She felt the younger shewolf take her tail and wrap it around themselves. “I’ll stay true to my word, I will come back.”
Jurina tightened her hold on Yuka while her teacher continued. “I have more reasons to come home now. I have Kumi, Seira, Mieko, Sakae and especially you…”
Yuka pulled back, cupping Jurina’s face in her hands and wiping away the tears with her thumb. “Now stop worrying, my little pup. I will come back.”
Jurina closed her eyes, bowing her head a bit to accept the kiss that her teacher placed on top of her head before tucking herself back in Yuka’s embrace. Now matter how old and big Jurina grows, she will always be Yuka’s pup. The pup that always fell face first in the dirt and the pup that cried to her from just a little scratch. They stayed that way for a little longer until Yuka’s stomach let out an alarmingly loud rumble.
“Right, we were supposed to go to the medic’s tent.” Jurina said, letting Yuka wipe away the rest of tears.
“I think I was supposed to be in pain too.” The older shewolf plopped herself on Jurina’s back. “Now carry me, pup. I am in too much pain to walk right now.”
“I’m not your slave.”
“I’m your Alpha do as I say.”
“I should have just dropped you in the middle of the dessert when I kidnapped you.”
“I would have haunted you if I died in the desert.”
--
After leaving Yuka, Mieko retreated to her tent, as she still had a bit of work to do. But as she made her way there, she checked on her assistants, making sure they were doing their jobs. Once assured they were fine, she continued on her trek.
She wondered where her sister was, as what Yuka said was true. Seira was avoiding her, and it made her a bit sad. Even going as far as to sleeping in her own, never been used, bed.
‘We need to talk about what happened that night...’
Opening the flap to their tent, she was surprised to see her sister inside, as when she had awoken, she was once again alone. But what surprised her the most was the fact, that she was in their bed, asleep.
Tiptoeing over, she crouched down over her sister, and took a closer look at her. She had bags around eyes, lack of sleep evident on her face. Mieko couldn’t help but sigh at her sister, who in turned began to mutter in her sleep, the only thing the older shewolf picked up was her name.
‘What are you dreaming about?’ She wondered, sitting on the bed, and carefully maneuvering her sister’s head onto her lap, her tensed body relaxing instantly. Removing Seira’s hair tie, she began massaging the wolf’s head, coaxing a small groan to slip from her mouth.
Moments later, the younger Sato woke up, and her body tensed up upon realizing where her head was laying on. She tried to keep her breathing even and her body as still as possible.
“I know you’re awake. We need to talk.” Mieko broke the silence, but otherwise didn’t move, her hand continuing with its previous task.
Seira tried to sit up, but was unable to do so. “I don’t want to talk about it. I was drunk, and you know that.”
“Yes, you were drunk. Alcohol...it has weird properties. Some call it liquid courage, in order to do what’s on your mind.” The older of the two trailed off, her hand now resting on Seira’s chin. “Do you think about kissing me a lot? Do you love me more than as a sister. Please tell me.”
Seira bit her lip before nodding, she could feel tears welling up in her eyes. She’s been dreading this confrontation for days. She felt disgusted at her actions towards her sister, but at the same she didn’t regret them. “I know you see me as your little sister, but I don’t see you as my older sister. I-I see you as someone I love and cherish. I want nothing more than to make you smile and be happy.”
Mieko was speechless, she had no idea her sister was harboring such feelings for her, and oddly she didn’t seem disturbed at the confession. “Seira…”
The younger of the two cut her off. “I’m disgusting.” Her tears free flowing from her eyes, a choked out sob following them.
Mieko hugged her younger sister, letting Seira cry on her shoulder and each sob that she heard added a crack to her already aching heart. Things between them will be different from now, they will never be what they used to be but that didn’t mean she loved her sister any less. She doesn’t know what she and Seira are now but that will be something she could deal with later.
Right now, she just wanted to hold Seira in her arms.
--
Sayaka watched from afar as Miyuki groomed Xena, ever since the talk they had last week, she noticed her mate distancing herself from the wolf. A frown made it’s way to her face, she didn’t mean for her mate to take it so hard but she knew that there was going to be something far worse happening at some point in the future and she didn’t want her mate suffer if something else was to happen to her.
Falling onto her back, she sighed as the warm sand made her tensed muscles loosen up, she realized this trick, when she went walking a few days ago, and saw wolves all around randomly falling back onto the sand. Confused, she found a private area to do it, and to her amazement, the heat of the sand was just perfect. It was similar to the hot rocks treatment they do in Namba.
Miyuki looked back, and sighed silently. She didn’t know what to do with her mate. She didn’t want to lose her again, but she didn’t know how to get it through to Sayaka. She distanced herself to give herself more time to think about it.
“Sayaka.”
The shewolf’s ears perked up at her name. “Yes?”
“Tell me about your days in Hakata. Did you ever know your parents?” Miyuki wondered, wanting to get rid of the thoughts coursing through her head. She was tired of feeling depressed.
“My parents huh?” Sayaka thought for a bit, trying to recall anything from her youth. “I don’t remember them too much, I was too young. They died to rogues attacking a human camp, they defended them, their clan was Namba and their duty was to protect the forest as well those that live within it. So, it included humans too but I didn’t find out until later. They told me that they fought bravely against bears, but got too wounded. I grew up thinking my parents were heroes, but in a way they still are. I spent most of my childhood in Hakata afterwards. I refused to talk to anyone back then. I was an angsty lil pup back then, baring my teeth at anyone who got too close to me.” Sayaka reminisced, noticing that her mate was moving closer to her, once Miyuki was beside her, her tail wrapped around her mate.
“Then what happened, you obviously changed.”
“Indeed. I made my first friend, Kei she was just as stubborn as me, trying to gain my attention. Always stealing something of mine, which made me angry. I would chase after her, and before I knew it, we were both out of breath and laughing.”
Miyuki hummed, her hand resting on Sayaka’s stomach, drawing lazy circles on them.
“After a while, I started opening up to everyone else. I was a natural born leader, always at the head of our small pack, leading us to trouble, but I always took the blame which meant smaller meal portions for me at dinner.”
Miyuki could hear the nostalgia in her mate’s voice. “You miss them don't you?”
Sayaka nodding, burying her face in Miyuki’s hair, taking in her scent. Its been a few days since they last cuddled, even if they were laying in the sand near the stables. “How can I not? I grew up with them. Kei, Nana, Aina and Akari, we left Hakata together and went to Namba together.”
Maneuvering her head from under the shewolf’s head, Miyuki pressed her lips to Sayaka’s, opting to comfort her. She understood what if felt to be alone.
“What about you?”
“There’s nothing interesting about me.” Miyuki replied in a self-deprecating tone.
Sayaka frowned. “But everything about you is interesting, especially to me!”
“You’re just saying that.”
“It’s true!” Sayak insisted. “The way you smile, talk, walk and even when you pick your nose when you think no one is looking, I find the way you move fascinating.”
“That’s gross!” Miyuki’s face formed into a grimace. “I can’t believe you find that interesting!”
“Like I said, everything about is something that I will always be fascinated about but tell me even a little about yourself.” The shewolf thought of a question. “Like when did you learn to use herbs?”
“I was a child when I learned how to use herbs and I used to live with my mother. She ran an inn and, I would help her clean the dishes and clean the rooms while she cooked the food and tended to the customers. It was just me and her.” The human smiled as she started to remember her younger days. “There was one time, I was minding the bar while mother served food. There weren’t that many customers either but her regulars were there having dinner and the rowdy ones hadn’t come in for they nightly mug of ale.”
“A man came that night, it looked like he didn’t have much money on him. His clothes were tattered and muddied, he looked like he had been in a fight too. Many of my mother’s customers warned her to turn him away.”
“Why would they say that?”
“He looked like the sort of man you wouldn’t trust and he had this look in his as if he had seen everything, the good and bad things.” Miyuki paused, trying to think of a way to describe the man. “In other words he was a criminal.”
“So she turned him away?” The shewolf inrquired.
Miyuki shook her head. “No! She didn’t have the heart to do it and besides his presence was enough to drive away the rowdy drunkards. They’ve been making moves at me during that time and mother didn’t want them to bother us, even for one night.”
“I would have kicked him out if it were me.”
“Mother would help anyone in need and this man looked like he needed it.” Miyuki put a hand under Sayaka’s chin, halting the shewolf from asking anymore questions. “He was wounded badly and has lost some blood from the gash on his chest. I think it’s from a sword or dagger he didn’t tell but he instructed mother on what to do while I did my best to help out.”
“Turns out he was a sword for hire. He took a contract that was too much for him to handle and got hurt from it.”
Sayaka removed that hand on her chin and held it in her own. “Is that when you started to learn?”
Miyuki nodded, laughing a little bit. “While mother was busy with running the inn, I was tasked to keep an eye on him. I badgered him with questions on how to heal, at first he didn’t want to but in the end he relented.”
“He taught me everything he knew, from basic healing to creating potions and poisons.” She looked at Sayaka and cupped the shewolf’’s cheek, her thumb tracing a wound that she could still see in her mind. “I wish I had paid more attention on healing rather than making potions and poisons. I would have saved you.”
The shewolf placed her hand over Miyuki’s and turned her head to the side to kiss the human’s palm, her gaze never leaving her mate’s. “I’m right here. I’m alive and Kumi saved me. What’s done is done and let’s stop dwelling on what has already past.”
Miyuki bit her lip, before breaking their eye contact. She could still see everything, like Sayaka was just brought before her. Noticing her mate going into her ‘helpless mood’, the shewolf stood up, before lifting Miyuki, she didn't even give her a chance to say anything before she took off to their tent. Once arriving she placed Miyuki on their bed.
“Sayaka?” Miyuki questioned, but she was silenced by the wolf’s lips. She fought against the kiss from a moment, but gave in. When the kiss ended, Sayaka started trailing kisses down her mate’s neck, before latching onto her mark, sucking and kissing it, causing Miyuki to hiss. Her hands coming up to Sayaka’s short hair, and lightly tugging it.
“Don’t talk, just feel.” The shewolf breathed into her mate’s ear, before nipping it. Sayaka could feel her mate tensing under her, she waited a moment to see if Miyuki truly wanted her to stop, but she didn’t see any forms of protest, she went in for another kiss, her tongue gently asking permission to enter her mouth. Shyly, Miyuki opened up, and when their tongues met, she melted, a moan slipping from her mouth, as her hands gripped onto Sayaka harder.
--
The day for Yuka, Kumi and their guests to leave for Namba came too soon for Jurina. She helped Yuka check on the camel, she’d spent the last few days with Yuka and Kumi as much as she could without interfering with the bondmates time. She wanted to savor every minute she could have with them and she was regretting it a bit now because she’ll miss them more. The young shewolf hesitantly handed the reins to her teacher.
“You alright, pup? You’ve been quiet for a while.” Yuka asked, seeing the way her student’s shoulder slumped and permanent pout on her lips.
Jurina shrugged in response, she didn’t know what to say. Yuka sighed, her student was the one taking her departure the hardest, it made her not want to leave but duty and the safety of Sakae’s future is urging her to. She placed a finger under Jurina’s chin and made her student look up at her,
“You don’t look okay.” Yuka commented, noticing the tears threatening to fall from Jurina’s eyes.
“Your leaving, of course, I’m not okay!” Jurina frowned, turning away to wipe away her tears.
The older shewolf chuckled at how young and childlike her student was acting and wrap an arm around Jurina’s shoulders, leading them to meet with her advisors before leaving. The camel followed after them, lazily chewing on whatever it had in it’s mouth. They reached a white tent, it was where Mieko spent most of her time either working on a patient or teaching her students and Yuka handed her camel’s reigns to a guard posted at the tent’s entrance.
They should have just left the came at the stables instead of taking it along with her but she might have forgotten because of her student. She told the guard to take the camel near the camp’s outskirts, where the army that was prepared to leave waited for her. They entered the Mieko’s medic station, inside they found the Sato sisters, with Mieko checking on Kumi as well as the kitsune’s surrogate parents.
“How is she Mieko?” Yuka asked, moving towards where Kumi sat. She took her bondmate’s hand in her own.
Mieko stepped away from Kumi, she was done with her examination already and was advising Kumi on what food is safe for her to eat. “She’s fine but I think I have some news for you.”
“It’s nothing bad… I think you’ll be happy about this news.” She said when she noticed the worried looks Yuka and Kumi exchanged as well as the way Kumi’s surrogate parents suddenly paid attention.
“Come on just tell them already!” Seira piped up, her sister loved holding out on news especially the good ones. She noticed that all the other medics that were taught by Mieko did that too. ‘Sadistic mutts.’
“Congratulations to both of you.” She smiled at the bondmates. “You’ll be having twins!”
The first one to react was Jurina, she let out a victorious howl before hugging Kumi and Yuka. She was going to be godparents of two shewolves, two amazing little girls. Jurina hugging both soon to be parents snapped them out of their shock and Yuka quickly stepped out of the hug to shift forms and started howling along with Jurina.
Jurina paused, grinning widely at Kumi and shifted also to join in with Yuka. The howls from the student and teacher were so loud that the other occupants of the winced, it might have even reached the camp outskirts.
Having enough of her bondmate’s howls, Kumi kneeled and stroked Yuka’s head. Yuka’s fur was soft like when she had touched Yuka in this form for the first time. The shewolf gently butt her head against Kumi’s belly and nuzzled her bondmate’s hands. Sayaka and Miyuki had approached Kumi also, giving their surrogate daughter their congratulations.
Rena entered the tent, She’d come to inform Yuka that the rest of the preparations for their departure was completed and was waiting for the shewolf. She’d heard the howls from outside and seeing what was happening made her confused.
Jurina shifted forms and ran towards her former rival, grabbing Rena’s hands as she started to jump excitedly.
“Kumi’s going to have twins!” The young shewolf gushed and Rena smiled at how excited Jurina looked.
Rena turned her attention to Kumi and smiled at the Kitsune. “Congratulations, Kumi-san!”
The kitsune returned Rena’s smile and was about to reply when Yuka bumped her head against Kumi this time on her hand. The shewolf wanted a bit of attention and she liked the way Kumi rubbed her neck. They stayed that way for a while, having their own small celebration of the good news but Mieko, the ever responsible one, reminded them that they had a long day of travelling.
They left the elder shewolf’s tent and towards where the group that will travel was waiting. It seemed the news of Kumi having twins had brightened Jurina’s mood and she was now asking what Yuka and Kumi’s plans were for the pups.
“This is a bit hard to believe.” Sayaka said to her mate. She and Miyuki were walking behind the others, watching the people that had played such big role from ending Sakae’s war talk like there was nothing out of the ordinary.
“How come?”
“We’ve come along to ask for aid and finally we’re going back.” She squeezed her mate’s hand. “We’ll end this soon.”
Miyuki smiled at her shewolf but she frowned when she felt Sayaka’s hand tighten around her’s. She noticed that the shewolf’s face had darkened and was trying to suppress the fear in her eyes. Following the shewolf’s gaze, she couldn’t stop her own mood to turn for the worse.
With them lagging behind, Rena was able to approach them without any warning. The formerly crazed shewolf was walking towards them carefully, hands idle on her sides so as to show that she wasn’t a threat.
She had apologized to Yuka, the day after the Alpha’s bonding ceremony. It had been much easier to apologize to Yuka, Kumi was there to buffer for her as well as Jurina. They seemed to have mostly forgiven her but she could feel a little bit of distrust from her new leader. She didn’t even had any difficulties with the Sato sisters because she done nothing wrong to them, except try to kill Yuka which Seira had beaten her for during a sparring session.
This instance was different, from what she had heard from Kumi and Jurina; Sayaka had died. All the wounds that she had inflicted had managed to kill the shewolf, she was lucky that Kumi had somehow saved her or else Miyuki would have taken her own life too. She would never forgive herself if she became the reason of ruining a perfect bond.
A bond like Miyuki and Sayaka’s was rare, not only because it was of a human and shewolf’s bond but there was just something special about them.
“Sayaka-san, Miyuki-san, may I speak with you?” She asked, bowing towards the couple politely. “Privately if possible.”
Sayaka swallowed, she was starting to remember the feeling of Rena’s claws on her and the memory of the pain she felt was coming back. She tried to say something but the fear had it’s grip on her already.
Noticing that her shewolf can’t seem to say anything, Miyuki addressed Rena. “What do you want with us?”
“I wanted to apologize.” Rena said, the way Miyuki had spoken to her cut through her. The human was kind, her being angry was a rare sight and seeing her talk with such animosity and coldness in her voice, threw Rena off and scared her even a bit. “If it’s alright, we’ll talk somewhere private? I promise that I won’t take too much of your time.”
Miyuki glanced at Sayaka but the shewolf still hadn’t moved, she tugged lightly on Sayaka’s hand and allowed Rena to lead them. When she found out that Rena was the one who had killed her shewolf, she had tried to contain her hate towards the shewolf. It wasn’t in her nature to hate or hold grudges, it was exhausting to do that and had seen people become twisted because of those things.
Rena had led them a path between tents that wasn’t used often, allowing them a sense of privacy. By the time they got there, Sayaka’s hold on Miyuki’s hand had bordered on pain that Miyuki had to force the shewolf to let go of her hand. Instead she cupped Sayaka’s cheek, whispering comforting words into the shewolf’s ear and Rena turned away, giving the couple some time.
“Let’s get this over and done with.” Sayaka finally said, trying to mask the fear in her voice with the same authoritative tone she would use in giving out orders to her clanmates. She was doing her best not freeze up in fear and just when she thought she had gotten over her fear from Rena, everything just came rushing back.
Rena nodded, taking a deep breath before starting. “I know what I did to both of and I don’t think that an apology is enough but please, allow this to be my first step in making amends with you.” Rena bowed her head towards Miyuki and Sayaka. “I’m sorry that I hurt both of you, that I took you away from each other and Sayaka, I’m sorry for all the pain I put you through and for taking you away from Miyuki.”
She had said it and hoped that it was enough. Rena slowly straightened up, there was nothing special to her apology, what she said was similar to her apology to Yuka and the Sato sister but her sincerity was there. Her vision blurred when she felt a sharp sting on her cheek. Her eyes had widened in shock but she should have been expecting this, Sayaka and Miyuki accepting her apology immediately was just too much to hope for.
“I don’t know about Sayaka…” She heard Miyuki start. “But I don’t think I will ever forgive you. Even if you lay down your life for us, I would still never forgive you.”
“I understa-”
“You don’t!” Miyuki interrupted. She took a deep breathe in an attempt to calm herself but somehow it seemed to only give her more strenght to hate Rena more. She didn’t want to breathe the same air as the other shewolf now. “You don’t understand because you’ve never seen the one that you love die in front of you, you’ve never seen them take their last breath and you’ve never felt what it’s like to see your world end! So, you will never understand!”
“Miyuki…” Sayaka called out to her mate and the human turned away from Rena to bury her face in Sayaka’s shoulder, taking slow deep breathes to stop herself from crying. The shewolf was surprised at what Miyuki just said and she didn’t think her mate could do that either.
Tightening her embrace around her mate, Sayaka focused her attention to Rena who didn’t seem to know what to do and spoke to her in the same tone she had used earlier but the fear had somewhat lessened. Her concern for Miyuki took precedent over her fear. “You’ve said enough. Leave us.”
Without a word Rena left them alone, she didn’t follow after Yuka’s group and instead retreated to the tent she and Jurina had started to share. She sat down on her own bed and buried her face in her hands, it had felt like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders but the guilt of causing so much pain felt more heavier. It didn’t help that Miyuki’s words still echoed in her head. She laid down and closed her eyes, everyone had been accepting of her presence so far, her troops are treated well by her new allies but there are times she still felt the distrust.
It will be a long while before she would ever find forgiveness from the ones that she had harmed and from herself but she will work hard for it. Earn their forgiveness and maybe at some point she could learn to forgive herself too.
--
Sayaka and Miyuki had managed to catch up to the others. Kumi noticed that something was a bit off with her surrogate parents but didn’t say anything else, thinking that she should talk to them later.
“With this larger group that we’re travelling in, it might take at least two weeks to get to our destination.” Yuka stated. She was waiting for the final report from the leaders she’d assigned for each part of the caravan.
“That’s a little longer than I expected.” Sayaka groused, she had hoped they would reach Namba’s territory much faster.
“A different route would have been taken also but to move through it we have to shift forms.” Yuka pointed out. “It will be too dangerous to do that because of our current situation.”
Sayaka nodded, her fellow Alpha had a point. In any other situation, she would have rushed to get to Namba already but the safety of the people with them and especially their mates was more important.
Two shewolves approached their group. Jurina tensed up, recognizing the girl she had tripped over and kissed. Surreptitiously moved behind Yuka, hoping that the shewolf wouldn’t recognize her. Kinoshita Yukiko was one of Mieko’s apprentices and will be the one attending to Kumi’s condition while on this trip.
Kumi smiled at the other shewolf, Dasu who she had requested Yuka to take her along because the food she made seemed to be the only things that Kumi can eat without making her sick.
They greeted their superiors, bowing their heads towards their leader.
“Yukko, Dasu.” Yuka greeted. “is everything ready for our departure?”
“Yes, all we need is your word to leave.” Yukko replied, eyeing the younger shewolf hiding behind her leader. Jurina was lucky that her mate was busy keeping an eye on their rides.
“Good. Tell everyone that we leave now.” Yuka commanded and the two left to relay the message.
Yuka felt a tug on her sleeve and turned around to face her student. She opened her arms and Jurina fell into her teacher’s embrace, her arms going around to hold her teacher’s shoulders tightly.
“Be careful out there.” Jurina said, laying her cheek against Yuka’s shoulder. After a moment they pulled away from each other.
“Take care of Sakae.” Yuka replied, smiling at Jurina. “This will be your first task as my general.”
Jurina saluted and Yuka turned to her advisors. She held out her hand for Seira and the blessedly busty shewolf grabbed Yuka’s elbow just as Yuka did to her own.
Seira grinned, whispering towards Yuka. “Make good use of the armor I made. It’s not just for display and turning Kumi on.”
“I don’t need it to do the last part.”
“You two are disgusting.” Mieko cut in, lightly pushing her sister away from Yuka. She started to check on the shewolf, making sure that she was wearing the right robes for travelling and had her scimitar by her side. “Are you ready? Do you have everything you need? Kumi’s snacks and supplements, do you have them? Do you ne-”
“Mieko…” Yuka interrupted, chuckling a bit at how Mieko can be such a mother hen but it was something she loved about her mosts trusted friend. “We have everything that we need and we’ll be fine. This isn’t the first time I left for Namba.”
“I know but things have changed.” Mieko frowned, brushing off a bit of dust that settled on Yuka’s shoulder. It was Kumi’s duty to take care of Yuka now, not her’s but still she couldn’t help but worry for her friend and someone she would consider as her own sister too. “I don’t know what else to say but Sayaka, make sure this dumb ass doesn’t take an arrow on the knee!”
“What?”
The Namba born chuckled. “I’ll try but I think Kumi is a good enough incentive for her not to do that.”
Sayaka and Miyuki said their goodbyes to the Sato sisters while Miyuki was asking a few more questions about Kumi’s pregnancy—she’ll also be taking care of Kumi along with Yukko—Sayaka had approached Jurina.
“Didn’t think this is how things would turn out.” Sayaka commented, holding out her arm for Jurina to take and the young shewolf took it, mimicking the same handshake that Seira and Yuka did. “This is much better, don’t you think?”
“Indeed…” Jurina smirked at Sayaka before letting go of the other shewolf’s arm. “How about the next time you visit we have another drinking game. I’ll be sure to beat you next time!”
“In another hundred years pup!” The smirk on Sayaka’s disappeared a moment later, replaced by a much serious look. “I think you should check on Rena later. She came to me and Miyuki to apologize.”
“How did it go?” The young shewolf asked hesitantly.
“Miyuki didn’t take it well and…” Sayaka sighed. “I’m not sure how to react to it. I hope you understand.”
Jurina nodded. Rena had a lot of things to do to make amends and she hoped that she can be there to help the shewolf along the way. “It’s fine and I’ll check on her later. Thank you for telling me.”
Around them the other mounts have started to move, the sounds of camels groaning in an effort to get up drowned out any conversation. Yuka helped Kumi mount the camel that they will ride together just as Sayaka did for Miyuki on Xena. They will be travelling a bit differently this time, none of them will be shifting and forming a protective barrier around the main caravan, they will travel as if they were any other human caravan.
“Mieko! Seira! Jurina!” Yuka called out from atop her mount with Kumi sitting in front of her. “I leave Sakae in your hands until I return!”
All three of them gave their replies, reassuring Yuka that Sakae will be fine in their care. It wasn’t really needed, everyone in the camp knew that the three of them will be the leaders when Yuka was away and Yuka only done just for the sake of having witnesses of who she left as leader. A precaution done, just in case someone wants to usurp their places as Sakae’s temporary leaders. With that said, Yuka directed her mount to move, trotting towards the front of the convoy to lead them with Xena following behind. They watched them go, occasionally waving whenever Yuka, Kumi, Sayaka or Miyuki would look back.
When the caravan was too far for Mieko and Seira to see the others wave goodbye they left to fulfill their duties. The other shewolves that had come to say farewell to their friends had done the same but Jurina stayed faithfully watching as the last figure of Yuka’s caravan was gone. She hoped and prayed to the gods that things will go smoothly.
Topic: Outcast and the Exiled Announcement 12/25 (Read 98769 times)