The Journey of Two Sisters: Book 4 of the Kinstone series

A couple days pass yet again. During this time, we had another small blizzard that quickly fizzled out shortly before the middle of the night. I began to wonder if Asha had something to do with it.

I had finally gotten over most of the pain and the concussion had also dissipated. The only thing that remained was my lingering sinus headache, but that too had mostly gone away. So I really felt nearly back to full strength.

I didn’t run through any of my dragon katas, given how I highly doubt the floor could handle them. So I instead elected to perform my tai chi forms. They had helped me in the past while recovering from my first battle with Diana, so I figured they’d be equally helpful to me now. My typical routine lasted for no more than an hour, so not very long.

Once more it felt good to get my body in motion again, having also only been outside a few times since I returned.

After a quick shower I hopped down to the kitchen for some to get some breakfast. My mouth forms into a smile as I see Asha sitting at the table, drinking some tea along with Marron and Yukari.

I step over to her, “Hey Asha.”

She grins, looking to me. “Ohayo Aria-chan, I hear you’ve nearly recovered.”

“I am,” I reply. “I’m guessing your bout with the yuki-onna went well.”

She takes another sip, “It did. Sneaky snow women. Granted it wasn’t as bad as it has been in the past. In fact a few years ago they really came on masse and wreaked havoc around here.”

I nod, taking a seat beside Marron. “Fenris and I could’ve gone to help you if I had been feeling better.”

“Not a chance, Aria,” says Marron. “I doubt even Fenris would’ve either, seeing how you are his top priority.”

I lean onto the table, grumbling.

Asha smiles, “I agree with your sister, Aria-chan, but I thank you for your offer. I have no doubt you and Fenris would’ve been a big help to me. You’re first priority is to recover and not have to worry about anything else.”

I sigh, “Oh alright.”

I hear her chuckle softly, “Oh don’t be so glum, my dear little niece."

A hand then gently strokes across my shoulders as I pan over to see Marron smiling to me. I smile in return, feeling something brushing against my leg. My gaze turns down to see Fenris laying his head onto my thigh. I smile to him, stroking his ear.

I sit back up and look to my aunts. “Hey, there are still a couple things I want to show you both.”

“Are you sure you’re strong enough to, Aria-chan?” asks Yukari as she takes a sip of her tea.

I nod, “Yep, I’m sure. It’s been a week and it’s nothing like the summer, honest.”

The kitsune nods slowly, and then looks over to the Asha, who shrugs.

“Alright then dear,” she says. “Would you like to show us here?”

I shake my head, “No…let’s go outside. I need some fresh air anyways.”

They then pan over to Marron who simply smiles. “If she says she’s strong enough to do, then I’m not going to stop her,” she says. “While I will be watching her, I’m sure she can handle being out in the cold for a bit.”

They each sigh and nod. “Very well, Aria-chan,” says Yukari, “But let’s go and bundle up first.”

I nod and get up from my seat and head upstairs back to my room. I snatch up my backpack and open my suitcase, finding my coat and boots. I glance at my bag, sighing heavily of what I was about to show. Can I keep it together? I mean…I know this won’t be easy, but I still have to show them. I sigh and head back downstairs.

I am met by my aunts, sister, and Fenris in the entryway. Marron quickly helps me into my coat and then hers. I lace up my boots and tap on the tips, smiling as the old habit quickly returns.

We slip outside and are met with a soft yet very chilled breeze. The skies are heavy with overcast, watching as the clouds are a mix of grays and whites. I lead the group around the house until we are in front of the living room. Marron slides open the outer doors and takes a seat with Fenris sitting beside her on the porch. I hand her my bag.

“You’re not going to show them the Xur’canah are you?” she asks.

I stare at my bag. “No…but there still are a couple things that I do.”

She nods as I turn and walk from her. The air, while freezing, indeed felt really good against my skin. Off in the distance I could hear the sounds of the ocean as it buffeted against the shore. I still remember sitting exactly were Marron is and staring out onto it. This is my home, a place I feel safe and happy, but…it’s not where my heart lies.

I sigh, shaking the distracting thoughts from my mind.

“Go ahead, Aria-chan,” says Yukari, “show us what you have been hiding.”

“I agree,” states Asha. “I’ll admit the suspense is getting to me.” I watch as a massive grin rises on her face. I smile softly to my aunts, ready now.

I pan back over to Marron, who smiles to me. I can tell she already knows what's first on my list. Fenris gives me a simple nod, watching as both of his tails swish softly on the hardwood deck.

I take a deep breath and transform into a kitsune, yet I hold my tails together as I did during my first few trips to the village. A cold breeze whips past me, blowing directly into my fox ears, causing me to yelp. Yep…still sensitive.

The truth is that I could have turned back into a kitsune whenever I wanted since I returned and having Hashibaba and my friends ask about it. But like I said, I was saving it for when both aunts were here.

My aunts chuckle softly. “Such a little girl as always,” says Yukari, “and still just as beautiful as a kitsune.” I feel my cheeks burning.

“I will say that your aura has increased considerably since the last time we saw you,” says Asha.

“I agree,” adds Yukari, “and far more powerful.”

I hold my hands in front me as I lift my combined tails to where they directly against my back. I slowly unfurl them two at a time, doing it four times until all are splayed behind me. I look over to my aunts, as I slip out my ninth tail, having it hang directly over my head.

Their eyes open wide as the gaze it.

“You…you have your ninth tail!” exclaims Yukari.

“This is incredible,” adds Asha. “For a girl so young to have gained all nine is practically unheard of.”

I blush softly, slowly curling my tails around me, feeling the fur scraping against the soft cold snow. Ever since my first Christmas with Mom, I’ve always loved strolling through the snow as a kitsune. The feeling of my tails swishing into the snow behind me, having the cold bite deeply past the fur and to the skin beneath has become something I look forward in the winter.

I just wish this winter didn’t come with more pain than ever before.

“How did this happen?” asks Yukari.

“The night I fought my birthmother, Fenris and I fused together,” I reply, glancing at my bonded. He smiles warmly as he lies next to Marron. “I guess it somehow caused my magic to swell beyond my limits and it grew as a result.”

Confusion and surprise fills both of their faces.

“That is…wait, what do you mean by, ‘fusing’?” asks Yukari.

I take a deep breath, trying to order my thoughts. There’s only two other people who know about this, one of which delved deeply into the subject and succeeded. The other well…

“From what Fenris told me it’s the purest form of our bond. We actually experimented with it last year. It however only resulted in me becoming nothing more than a feral animal when I lost myself to it. To be honest, neither of us really understand it all that much.”

I lower my gaze to the ground as I hold my arm. I still remember that night, feeling horribly ashamed for it. I had lost all sense of who I was and was no better than a frightened animal. If it weren’t for Mom and Fenris snapping me out if it, I doubt I ever have would come back.

“This all in the past, little Aria,” I hear Fenris tell me. I look over to him and smile.

My aunts slowly nod. I don’t blame them for their confusion. As I just told them, I still don’t even have the foggiest of what it means. I think Fenris and I both wish we had a teacher to help us understand it.

My grip then tightens around my arm. “Am…am I still human or have I fully transformed into a yokai?” It’s another question I’ve wanted to ask them for a while. I know that I say that I’m a kitsune, hell most people seem to only know me as one.

“Sweetheart,” starts Yukari, “you have been yokai to us since we saw you last year for your birthday, yet now even more so. During the spring, I saw you embracing your kitsune side during your performance, and throughout your entire time here. You truly have become a yokai.”

My tails furl tighter around me.

“You may have been born a human,” she adds, “Yet with each tail you grew, you became more and more kitsune. Now…you truly have left your humanity behind and have become a true kitsune. This is also why I believe that your other transformations have become aspects of who you are. The passion, patience, temperance, and fluidity of the other races are mirrors of your soul.”

My cheeks turn a soft red. Back in the spring I embraced being kitsune, so why doubt this fact? And she’s also right about my other transformations. I often am kitsune more than the others, fighting, training, simply walking around the Estate.

Yet recently, and this was evident to me when I fled the Ranch, I noticed that my pull towards the kitsune being the absolute strongest and truest. Whenever I fight, it’s as a kitsune. Magically I feel more at ease as a kitsune. Heh, I am a fox after all. Long before becoming a kitsune, I was a fox, so I am.

So does this mean that I connections to my other forms are now mirrors of myself? That being kitsune is who I truly am? Perhaps so. But this might also bypass the necklace’s protection in maintaining my humanity. Heh, well I'm really not human anymore, seeing how I doubt Mom predicted something like this happening to me when I began transforming into other races.

“So is this why everyone kept asking why she wasn’t in her ‘true form’?” asks Marron. “I know it’s her favorite form, and the one she doesn’t have to use the necklace in order to transform into.”

My aunt smiles, “True. Everyone here in the village only knows her for being kitsune. While I can sense the mana of your other forms, it’s really the kitsune that shines through.” She looks to me, “You truly are a kitsune not born of kitsune.”

I peer over to Asha who is only beaming at this point. I guess to them and everyone else, I really am a kitsune. I giggle to myself, remembering that I declared myself to be kitsune while I danced. So…I am one, forevermore.

I pan over to Marron, who is also smiling to me. I then glance down at my bag, feeling a swelling of anguish bubble up in me. I hear her slipping off of the deck and walk over to me, hearing her feet crunching into the snow.

“Are you sure it’s not the Xur’canah?” she asks.

I never once have had to worry about the lantern since I woke up. The bag itself had the same spell that Mom had placed on my necklace, that either only she or myself could remove it from my back. The artifact was also buried so deeply into the bag that you literally might have to dump everything out of it in order to find it. This also shielded it from detection. It’s not that I don’t trust my aunts, far, far from it. It’s just something I don’t think they need to be involved with.

I nod, “I’m sure.” No…what I have to show them is much different. I open the bag and slip my hands into bag and reach around inside until I find them. I pull my arm out, holding my kodachi.

I hold it tightly in my hands. A large lump begins to form in my throat as I chokingly draw it, revealing the broken blade.

The eyes of both daiyokai grow wide with shock as I hold the weapon.

“What happened?” asks a shocked Asha.

“The morning we were supposed to go to Seattle, we were ambushed,” I start. “I fought using my kodachi against Diana.” The lump in my throat grows even larger. “She…she broke it. I thought…I thought I could counteract her felfire by wrapping the blade in foxfire and dragonfire, but she still managed to destroy it.”

I look up at Asha. “This…this was a gift, and I broke it,” I say crying. I then sheath it, grabbing it with one of my tails, and pull out the dragon sword. Also showing them that it too was now broken. “This was given to me by Silvi.”

My tears continue to fall as my grip tightens around the hilt, “It’s like I’ve lost my only link to my sister.” I sheath the blade, feeling even more terrible.

Both aunts then come rushing over to me, quickly pulling me into a tight embrace. I cry bitterly into to their arms, crying like a child. I feel Yukari’s tails wrap gently around my body as Asha strokes my hair.

“Shhh,” says Asha. “It’ll be alright my dearest girl. I know these were gifts, but we gave them to you for your protection. Do not feel as though you have failed us or disgraced yourself by having them broken.”

Yukari kisses my forehead. “This may sound cold, but I for one am glad these were the only things lost. Weapons can be replaced, you cannot.”

I nod, still feeling hot tears streaming down my face.

Asha smiles, wiping away my tears with her claw. “Will you smile for us?”

I look up them, giving a faint smile, cheeks slightly raw as the wind blows against them. I’ve cried so much lately, having my heart ripped apart over and over again. This is one pain I’ve carried for the past week, and it’s something that simply is tacked onto everything else in my life.

They smile. “There’s the lovely smile we love to see,” says Yukari. “Tears truly do not suit you Aria-chan.”

I giggle. Mom used to always say that to me whenever I cried. When I’m happy, everyone becomes happy. It’s something I’ve been told many times over, in how I also bring life into wherever I go are live.

Both women then pull away slightly.

“May we see your swords?” asks Asha. I nod, handing them over.

They each take a sword and unsheathe it, examining the blades. I look over to Marron, who is still but a few feet away from me. She gives me her best “it’ll-all-work-out” smile. I smile back to her, with my tails again encircling me.

Asha carefully goes over the blade. A gentle, yet prideful smile stretches across her face. “You have done an exceptionally remarkable job in maintaining these weapons, hardly a scratch or speck of damage upon them.”

I giggle, “To be fair, I only used them a few times. Mostly I’d take them apart and clean them.”

The ryujin sheathes the blade and returns it to me. “It is often better to merely have the weapon than to have to use it. But use both you have and I can tell they have been highly cherished by their master.”

I giggle, nodding. “The Han kote you both made for me really saved my life a couple of times. Especially when my home was attacked back in July.”

Yukari smiles, also returning the dragon sword to me, “I am truly glad that it did.” She then looks to Asha. “We…could perhaps make a second one for you if you’d like.”

I smile to them brightly, swishing my tails. “Yes please.”

They chuckle. “Then it shall be done,” says Asha.

I giggle, looking at my swords, also remembering that I saved their broken pieces. “I still don’t understand how Diana broke the kodachi when I had it surrounded in foxfire and dragonfire.”

“For one,” starts Yukari with me looking up at her, “you are still young, so don’t feel too overly terrible about this loss. It only means that you can grow stronger. Your mother informed me you fought a Nightmare. Terrible beings who despise those of the celestial nature such as kitsune.”

I lower my gaze, recalling my battle with Diana and her nightmare. We were in complete opposition to each other, one of spirit, the other of death. I remember its unbridled hatred and rage towards me, which further fueled Diana’s hatred of me, increasing her power.

She sighs, “That being said, your kodachi, while enveloped and strengthened by the flames of the celestial and primal flames of the dragon, is still of mortal make. I surmise the nightmare, while not present, may have given her a boost in order to overwhelm your enhancements. That or the girl caught a lucky break.”

I glare at her, cocking my head slightly. Really, puns?

She chuckles, “Forgive me my dear. Also, you denied your enemies a victory by claiming your life. That in of itself is a victory for you.”

I nod, again looking at my swords, “Can they be repaired or even remade?”

Asha sighs, shaking her head, “I’m afraid not Aria-chan. Simply put, the damage to both weapons is too severe, not to mention the lingering traces of felfire. I would suggest purifying each weapon.”

“I doubt even the elves,” adds Yukari, “which crafted the sword from Sil’vari-san, could even repair it given how damaged it is. Even if both swords were repaired, I doubt they would have the same strength as before.”

I nod, sighing heavily as I place each sword back into my bag. I feel naked with the idea that I don’t have a weapon. I know I have my bokken, and I can use it in a fight. It won’t break easily, mostly thanks to it being crafted by the dryads. Anything made by them is much, much stronger than normal wooden implements.

Both women then place a kiss onto my forehead. I smile hugging each of them and wrapping my tails around them. If I have to honest, it feels really good to be a kitsune again. While at home, I would transform, but then had to resume my human form. Here…nope, I’m a pure kitsune.

They each pull me back into their arms, hugging me tightly.

“Our sweet, sweet little niece,” says Yukari.

“Our most precious little girl,” add Asha.

I giggle. I look up at them, “Think we could also get some training in?”

Yukari laughs, “You love to train don’t you?”

“You have no idea Yukari,” says Marron. I grin to her.

Asha smiles, “Given how late in the year it is, it may not be possible. We still want you to rest and relax.”

Yukari nods, “If this were the spring we would more than gladly do so.”

I sigh, peering over to Fenris, who obviously appears to be itching to get some in. I grin, knowing that we can do something together. I won’t be going behind my aunts backs, nor am I upset with them.

Again this isn’t like the summer, I just need a little time and continue with my tai chi and then maybe start up something harder. Although knowing me, Fenris and I more than likely will in fact be getting some training in. I just don’t know when though.

I pan up to Marron, who is leaning against Fenris. I know she’s worried about me, and I love her to death for it.

“Hey sweetie,” she says, “why don’t we head back inside? I think I’m the only one here without fur or is unaffected by the cold.”

I giggle as my aunts let me go, “Ok.”

I start heading over to her, glimpsing as Fenris steps beside me. He leans in and nuzzles my cheek with his muzzle, groaning softly. I smile to him, reaching up and stroking his face. “Thank you Papa Wolf.”

“You are welcome, my little Aria,” he says softly. I feel his tails wrapping around my own, holding them tightly. I giggle softly, doing the same.

I look up to Marron, seeing her smiling warmly to me. She pulls me into her, holding onto me. I smile, clinging to her arm. She grins, leaning over and kisses the top of my head.

“Now come on,” she says.

I giggle as the five of us then turn and reenter the house.