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

The following morning, Marron, Fenris, and I head out.

We received a call from Asha saying she wanted us to come over and visit. Orga, Kateryna and Yukari all decided to stay at the house. Apparently my knights really hit it off with the villagers, seeing how the trio didn’t come home until after 10:00 in the evening. I also suspect they’ve really come to enjoy each other’s company over the past week.

The morning air, while cold, feels amazing against my skin. Last night, I finally was able to have a nightmare-free sleep, much the praise of everyone. I guess I really needed to allow myself the chance to vent and heal myself completely, and our trip the shrine helped in more ways than I thought. Marron also seems to be looking brighter than before.

We also took advantage of having the house to ourselves and pretended that it was just the three of us there, with Fenris sleeping quietly in the living room. She and I worked around the house, doing some cleaning and cooking for the evening. We then sat in the living room and watch TV together, with her holding me close to her. In a way, it felt like when it was just the two of us. So a great evening.

Fenris “lightly” jogs through the forest, feeling a rush of chilled wind against my face. It is still just as dense as I remember, only having most of the trees devoid of green leaves. Marron holds onto me tightly as the wolf bounds over large exposed tree roots that have seemingly begun to jut out over the path.

“Fenris and I used to go this way every time we visited Asha to train,” I tell her. I then giggle, “We even spent the night with her and the shirohebi if the night grew long.”

She smiles, glancing out at the forest. “This region is beautiful, and you just seem to be at home here.”

I look up at her, smiling, “Well…it sort of did, and kinda quickly I might add.” My eyes then pan upwards along the tree line, “If the mountain pass wasn’t blocked off, we could take the train to Tokyo. Oh how I would love to visit Akihabara again.”

I feel her grip tightening, “If we did, we would lose the protection of our seclusion. You know that, right?”

I sigh, nodding, “I know.”

She kisses the top of my head. “Want to know something else? This is only the third time I’ve been to another country.”

I look up at her, “I thought you were constantly going overseas with your company.”

She shakes her head, “Nope, I often choose to stay back on those trips, with them finally begging me to go last summer. Now, I absolutely love Milan. That’s another place I’d love to take you.”

I giggle softly, agreeing with here that I’d love to take a trip with her that same I did with Mom.

“As for before that,” she continues, “I did go on a group trip to Paris about ten years ago with the Coven. Unfortunately I came down with food poisoning so I missed out on most of it.”

“I’m sorry,” I say flattening my ears.

She chuckles, “Don’t be, because now I get to enjoy this with you. I did try to get onto being a team leader last year, but work ramped up for the coming winter. You have no idea how busy work can get before Christmas.”

I giggle, “I can imagine.”

I really wanted for her to be there with us. Spending time with Marron is always something I longed for. When Sarah Wincott said my sister wasn’t coming, I became slightly depressed but got over it. But…there is also the issue of if I would’ve met Kerrigan if Marron did go with.

Oh who I am kidding, Lady Sabine would have still suggested to my mother about sending Kerrigan out to find and take me around Rome. So nothing really would change.

“Hey, when did you learn Japanese?”

“Well, after your first trip here,” she starts, “I figured that it be a good idea to pick up the language, given our shared love for anime. So I took up the task to take some rather intensive online courses, and became fluent in a couple months. This actually turned into a boon for my job as Seattle has a thriving Japanese community and we often received a great deal of business from them. So I became a translator.”

I giggle, “I did the same thing in Italy.”

She grins, “I heard.”

My ears soon flick as the sound of rushing water pierces through the wind. I smile, knowing that the river isn’t too far off. This means that Asha’s home isn’t either.

“Are you going to stay as a kitsune?” asks Marron. “Not saying that you have to be human for my sake.”

I bob my head, “I am. It just feels more natural being one while here, even before growing my ninth tail. I’ve always felt more relaxed while in the form. So while here, I can just let myself be one all I want.”

I could never be a kitsune outside of the Estate or if under special circumstances, such as the tournament or in private. So this is a real treat for me.

“In fact,” I add, “during my time here in the spring. I hardly ever was human.”

She smiles, “Well, you definitely live up to your nickname as ‘Little Fox’.”

I feel her stroking the top of my head, and fiddles with my ear, causing me to blush. I look down as we cross a bridge over a small stream, remembering how often I’d venture down and play with the unagi joro whenever I had a moment.

Fenris makes another leap over a large root. “I will have to speak to Asha about these roots,” he says. “I know for certain the dryads would be furious if they saw this forest.”

I chuckle, “I have no doubt they would.” The forest back home while appearing untamed and wild, were in fact highly ordered thanks to the dryads managing them.

We finally arrive at the entrance to Asha’s shrine. The both of us slide off of Fenris’ back, listening as the snow crunches beneath our feet. I smile softly as we pass under the main gate and into the main courtyard. Another rush of cold wind buffets us, but I hardly register it.

I scan around, again recalling my time here, training with both my aunt and the shirohebi. My gaze turns upwards from the river, smiling as the mountain seems to continue forever.

“Okay…this place is just gorgeous,” says Marron. “I can hardly believe we’re only a few miles from the house. It’s as though we’ve traveled into another world.”

I giggle, “That’s what I thought when Asha first brought me here. It’s beyond secluded and tucked away so deeply, most outsiders don’t know it even exists.”

She looks to me, smiling, “You’re sounding a bit like a local.”

I grin, “Maybe a little.” During the spring, I quickly settled into the region and became so engrossed in it that I felt as though I had lived here all my life. Funny how that happens to me.

My ears then flick as the sound of something slithering on the snow.

“Ohayo Aria-chan, Marron-chan.”

I grin, panning over to see Asha making her way over to us. “Ohayo Asha,” we both reply.

She smiles, coming closer to us, and then coils her tail, sitting on it. “Despite what you might think, we ryujin aren’t overly fond of cold weather,” she says. “But that’s me complaining. How are you feeling? I heard you visited the inari shrine yesterday.”

I smile, folding my tails behind me. “A lot better,” looking to Marron, who smiles to me. “I actually was able to get some real sleep.”

“Good,” she says, “Yukari told me that your nightmares were starting to get to you.” She then looks to Marron, “And you?”

My sister nods, resting her hand onto my shoulder, “I think I’ll be able to move forward now.”

My aunt grins, “I am so happy to hear that.” The winds picks up once more, blowing heavily onto the trees. “Why don’t we take this inside where it’s warm?”

The both of us nod as Asha uncoils and heads for her house. Fenris stays to my side as Marron and I follow after her.

Asha slides open the door and moves inside. We take off our shoes and step up. In the main living room, I see the shirohebi all sitting around a large kotatsu. All six of them turn and each baring a massive grin. They then slip out and slither over to me, quickly pulling me to tight loving hugs.

“We are so glad to see you, Aria-chan,” says Masami, a short-haired shirohebi.

“We are also happy that you’re alright,” says Haruna, a shirohebi with shoulder-length hair.

“Thanks girls,” I tell them, I look behind me, “This is my sister, Marron.”

The group looks to her, each grinning broadly. They each then bow to her, “Greetings, Marron-san.”

My sister grins, bowing in return, “Hello. I heard a lot about you, especially your first encounter with my sister.”

They grin, looking to me. Yeah…my first meeting with the shirohebi wasn’t good at first, but we slowly grew out of it. I grin to them, again recalling my first morning here when they emerged from out of the forest to greet me.

“Asharyume-sama has been keeping us informed about you,” says Kikyo, a shirohebi with twin braids.

I smile, looking to my aunt, who smiles to me.

I am then pulled away from the group and into the arms of another. I smile, seeing that it’s Natsuki. She holds me close, “I have been so worried about you, Aria-chan,” she says. “I’m sure you have been hearing this from a lot of people lately. But when Asharyume-sama informed us you had disappeared, we were beside ourselves with worry. To us you are irreplaceable”

I blush softly, flattening my ears, but smile. “Natsuki-neesan,” I say hugging her.

“Neesan?” asks Marron.

“It’s meant as a form of endearment, nothing more,” replies Natsuki, stroking my hair,

My sister grins. The shirohebi smiles, kissing my forehead as she then takes me over to a large kotatsu, setting me under it.

Masami and Kikyo both ask for our coats and disappear to hang them up. The other shirohebi greet Fenris as he sits by the sliding doors. I listen as they talk for a moment, mostly with him filling them in on a few details that Asha may or may not have told them.

I watch as Marron sits next to Asha, then as the pair begins to talk to each other. Their conversation mainly deals with how we’ve been adjusting to being here. My aunt then reveals the plan that she and Yukari had discussed with me right before I left. In that if I were to return, Asha would come first, being closer, and with Yukari coming soon after. To be honest, it wasn’t really anything more than an emergency plan. But it turned out to be the best idea.

I talk with the shirohebi about the gathering, the tournament, and the dance. I am reluctant to discuss with them about the attack on my home, both of them in fact. I only give sparse details, but somehow I know that Asha has already told them about it. I glance at Marron, who smiles to me.

The girls then start talking about when Miriam arrived in the village, how everyone went into a panic upon sensing her. I giggle softly as they tell me how shockingly powerful her aura was, with so many unsure who had arrived. So naturally they all rushed to defend the region only to discover my grandmother standing at the path landing up to my house smiling to them.

After Asha cleared everything up, they admitted to having a wonderful time with her. I grin, wishing I could’ve been there, watching Miriam interact with everyone, especially when she and Hashibaba met.

Natsuki then peers down, “So what Asharyume-sama said was true, you have grown your ninth tail.” This causes all of the girls to gaze at my tails.

I giggle, nodding as I stroke all of them.

“I can’t believe how young you are to have all nine,” says Masami.

My cheeks blush softly, smiling. I am still young, and so much has happened since I first transformed into a kitsune or even when I first visited Japan two and a half years ago. All of it feels like a lifetime ago when I think about it.

“You truly are yokai, Aria-chan,” says Natsuki. “Of course we’ve known that for a long time. I bet the village must be overjoyed with have one of its children come home.”

I tilt my head, “What do you mean? I’ve always known a lot of people in the village liked the idea of adopting me.”

Asha sighs and facepalms, “That…was supposed to be a surprise.”

Natsuki bows, “Forgive me, Asharyume-sama.” Asha smiles, nodding softly to her.

I look to her, who then smiles to Marron. My sister grins, “This I learned shortly after Yukari arrived. Right after the attempt on your life back in June, the village adopted you. They then asked Yukari to aid them in formally recognizing you as a resident of the village and therefore becoming a Japanese citizen.”

I stare at both of them, “Are you serious? Please tell that this has to be a joke.”

Both women nod to me. I pan over to the shirohebi, who are all grinning.

I slam my head into the table and groan in disbelief. Now I understand why Hashibaba referred to me as a “true child of the village”.

I smirk. “I guess you’re gonna have to step up your role as my legal guardian, Marron,” I say, looking up at her.

She looks at me with confusion. “How…how do you know that?” she asks.

My lips form into a broad grin.

“You and those ears,” she groans.

I giggle softly.

She then slips over and pulls my tiny frame into her. My sister wraps her arms around my body, holding me against hers. I smile, holding onto her arms.

The hours pass along swiftly, with us eating lunch and talking more with each other. It’s nice to have yet another place to feel calm and peaceful. The slowly begins to chill as the wind outside starts to pick up.

Natsuki leans over to me. “I think we’ll head back to our rooms. Shirohebi aren’t very fond of the cold.”

I smile, “Take care, neesan.”

She grins, planting a kiss on my forehead, “You as well, Aria-chan.” The girls all tell me goodbye and slither off towards the back.

Another brush of cold wind beats against the outer doors, causing Marron to shiver a bit.

I grin to her, “Feeling cold, Marron?”

She sighs, “Not all of us are blessed with a built-in blanket, sweetie.” I giggle. She smirks, and then looks to Asha, “Mind if I made us some tea?”

My aunt nods, “Be my guest, Fenris can show you where the kitchen is.”

My sister nods as she rises from under the kotatsu with Fenris following suit. I watch as the pair leaves the room and over to the kitchen.

Asha reaches over and pulls me into her lap, raking her claws through my hair, even playing with my ears a little.

I giggle, looking up at her. “It’s great to be back here again.”

She smiles, pulling me into her chest, and hugging me tightly. “I know I’ve told you this before, but you have no idea how much I’ve missed you,” she says, then kissing the top of my head. She peers down at me, “I only recently found the letter you sent me before your home was attacked back in July.”

I sigh, nodding, “It was all a trap that was set up by Lana and Mistral with the help of their dads. Mom was sent a summons from who she thought was Viktor Titalos, which pulled her away along with Silvi.”

She nods slowly. “I heard how well you fought to not only defend your life, but also your home. Both Yukari and I couldn’t have been any more proud of you.”

I turn around in her lap and lean against her, resting my head onto her chest. I feel her wrapping her arms around me, still holding me tightly to her body. I smile, wrapping my tails around her. I pan over to see my scarf as it hangs along with my coat.

“I still remember when you gifted me that scarf a couple years ago,” I say, smiling at it.

Asha grins, “The shirohebi and I were more than happy to do so.” I giggle softly as she again kisses the top of my head.

I settle for a moment, “Hey, if…if I had returned to the village first, would you have been the one I’d gone to?”

She shakes her head, “No, my dear Aria-chan. Yukari would’ve taken you in the moment you stepped off of the plane. In fact, I have little to no doubt she would have also adopted you shortly after.”

I giggle softly. She smiles, “However, I do believe that you are in the best capable hands with your sister. She knows you better than anyone, aside from your mother.”

I smile warmly, gazing at the kitchen, knowing that Marron is probably listening in on us.

“I’ve heard a tantalizing rumor that you are going on yet another date,” she says, grinning.

My ears stand up straight as I look up at her, feeling my heart fluttering a bit. “Where, where do you hear that?”

She chuckles, “I shall not say.”

I think for a moment, and then sigh, “Senpai.”

She chuckles softly, holding me even closer to her. “Have you ever given any thought of what it would have been like if you had been born here in the village?”

My head bobs slightly, imagining myself running through the streets as I chased after my friends, learning at the local school, and then going off to high school with them.

Asha smiles, continuing to stroke my hair.

Marron then returns, carrying a tray with a teapot and a set of cups, setting them onto the table. “I definitely would’ve loved seeing her as a little kid, with a single tail flapping through the air.” She chuckles, “Oh how cute she’d look wearing little kimonos during festivals.”

My cheeks blush softly, then remembering the dream world where Marron had raised me. While the memories are false, I remember myself as a ten year old, with Marron taking me around the county fair. Fake or not, I do look on them fondly.

She sits down beside us, pulling a leg into her chest. Her head then droops, “I really wonder what it had been like to raise you. Not just in Texas, but here as well.”

I smile to her, “It be the same in either place. I’d still be yours.”

She smirks, nodding. “But in the end, you were destined to be with your mother, not me.”

I flick her with one of my tails, “You’re still my big sister regardless of that. I’m still happy to be with you no matter what our destiny is.” She looks up at me. I smile softly to her, “Maybe it was destiny that brought us together. You even told me that you felt a bond with me before we even met.”

She smiles, stroking my tail.

“So don’t feel so down. I’m happy you’re my sister, my family.”

Tears begin to well up in her eyes as she grins to me.

I slip out of Asha’s lap and crawl over to her. My tails settle around us as I curl up into her. “Sissy.”

She chuckles chokingly, stroking my hair. Tears drip onto my hair as she kisses the top of my head. Marron then pulls the blanket from under the kotatsu, draping it over my body. I hear her hum to me, listening to the soothing lullaby as the gentle heat from the table permeates into me. I feel my eyes growing heavy, slowly forcing me to close them.

(Marron)

I gently stroke my sister’s body as she falls asleep, smiling as her tails instinctively coil around her, very much like a fox when they rest. I tenderly kiss the side of her head, grinning as her ears flop in response before folding over her hair.

“I can never get over how peaceful Aria-chan appears while she sleeps,” softly says Asha.

I grin, stroking her hair. “I’d often find her curled up on my couch back in Texas when the two us first met.” I glance up at her aunt, “She looked so much like a child.” I then chuckle softly, “It almost was a shame to wake her.” Asha grins, leaning over.

I smile down at my sister, “Even as a teenager, she’s always been more like a child. At the time, she really was like a newborn. Everything was new and exciting to her.” I grin, “Always a silly little girl, even before any of this ever happened.”

My fingers gently fiddle through her hair. “I wish I could have seen her grow into the beautiful young lady she is now. Free of the pain that’s been inflicted upon her, free to be just a normal girl.” I chuckle softly, “Granted she’s never been a normal girl.”

I know for a fact she’s told me those exact words. From the very start, she’s never been your typical girl, but someone new.

I smile, “I much rather her be her than anything else.”

Asha smiles, leaning over and wipes away the tears which have been falling unnoticed by me for the past couple minutes, “You shouldn’t cry, Marron-chan.”

I nod, but the tears still fall. “I just want to be everything she needs me to be right,” I reply chokingly. “I want to be the big sister she idolizes so much and fights so hard to protect.”

“You are,” says Asha. “Just be the elder sister she has always known you to be. The mere fact that you are here means more than anything in the world to her, Marron-chan.” She peers down at my sister. “She loves her family fiercely.”

I chuckle, feeling a lump growing in my throat, “Family means everything to her.”

“That is exactly why you are here,” she says, still smoothing my cheek with her clawed thumb. “She needs her family.”

I smile, looking down and watching her sleep peacefully.

“I can’t believe she’s sixteen,” I whisper, eyeing her necklace as it rests against her arm, a link to her mother.

“Is that truly how old she is?” asks Asha, looking to me.

I nod, “Her mother actually transformed her into five-year-old child once, a gift to celebrate a full year since sending her the necklace. When that happened, it forever changed her body and mind. It was as if she had been teenager her entire life. You might think of it as a reset for her.”

I smile, stroking her hair. “But it’s only now that she truly is a little girl. With a past forever lost, but a new future as a girl.”

“How do you know all of this?” she asks.

I grin, “Her mother and I often spoke a lot after the start of the year. Aria was having serious doubts about who she was at the time.”

Her aunt nods, looking down at my sleep sister. She then smiles to me, “Would you like to see her as she slept as a ryujin?”

I grin, bobbing my head. Asha then turns and heads deeper in to her home. I continue to hold my sister, tenderly stroking her body. I peer over to Fenris, who has been resting soundly on the other side of the kotatsu. I smile as I watch his chest rise and fall with every breath. Even if not uttering a word, the wolf’s fatherly watchful presence could be easily felt.

The ryujin quickly returns carrying her phone. She leans down and hands me the phone. I grin softly at the picture of a young blue ryujin sleeping upon a pillow, and wearing a simple kimono.

No matter what form you take sweetie, you always manage to appear adorable while sleeping.

I look down at her, smiling as I feel her breath upon my chest. My fingers gently brush away some hair covering her face.

I hand the phone back to her. “Would you like to see her as a five-year-old?” I ask whispering.

She beams, nodding eagerly.

I chuckle softly as I pull out my phone and bring up the pictures her mother sent to me years ago. I had always kept them in a separate folder, wanting to make sure that I never lost them.

I hold it up to her and scroll through the pictures. Her face swooned with every new photo. To be honest, when Lady Rachel sent them to me, I was completely shocked at how many she had taken.

Most were of Aria in various dresses and outfits, a few were more simple, merely her in the conservatory on her swing. Those were my favorites, just her simply playing around as a child after the falling out with her birth family. I believe that was what her future mother wanted for her that day, to truly relax and enjoy herself.

Asha also grins as I show her the video of her playing with Micha and Luna. “I can’t believe how cute she looked as a child,” she says. “The only thing missing would have be-”

I grin, “A tail and ears.”

Her aunt chuckles, “Precisely.” She then looks to me, “Oh how I bet you wish you could’ve been there.”

My grin broadens, “You have no idea. If I did, I would’ve brought along a trunk full of adorable little outfits for her to wear.” I look down at her again, still imagining dressing her in anything and everything cute. “When I first had her, I used to dress her in all sorts of outfits, ranging from Lolita to even modeling a few new designs I had been working on.” I chuckle, “I even had her wear a wedding dress.”

Asha’s mouth drops in surprise, “You did not.”

I nod and grin, bringing up the picture.

Her aunt shakes her head in disbelief, “This…this is too much.”

I chuckle, “You should’ve been there. Aria was practically a nervous wreck during the dress-up and also throughout the photoshoot.”

She laughs softly, “I think it best not to show Nonoha-kun this. Lest he begins to have certain ideas.”

I smile, nodding, “I agree.”

The winds soon begin to howl and beat against the doors and windows hearing them rattle. Asha sighs, picking up her phone again. “Well, it would appear yet another storm has decided to rear its face.” She then looks down towards my sleeping sister and then to me, “Meaning that I in good conscious cannot allow either of you to return home. I’ll call Yukari and tell her the three of you will be spending the night here.”

I nod to her as she then quietly leaves to head into the other room. I continue to hold my still sleeping sister close to me. I look back over to Fenris, still sleeping soundly on the other side of the kotatsu with his tails curled around him. I smile, reaching over and stroking his face. The wolf groans happily at my touch. Father, companion, protector, you are so many things to this girl.

I scoot closer to him, carefully pulling Aria along with me, and curl up into his side, draping the blanket of the kotatsu onto us. The wolf looks to me with a half-open eye. I hold a finger to my lips, telling him not to wake her. He nods softly, laying a tail over us.

I look over to see Asha returning into the room. She quietly leans over. “Yukari and Aria-chan’s knights know that you three will be here tonight. The storm is set to pick up strength as the night carries on.”

I nod to her as she watches over my sister. I smile, holding the sleeping girl close to me.