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

It’s just a few days before Christmas. There are times when I still can’t believe, or accept, that I’m in Japan and not at home on the Estate. Reality is a bit fickle at times, but the truth is that I’m here now.

I stayed in relative contact with the gossip and Savero. Mostly passing little notes to each other, which I received dozens from the girls. I still miss them every day that goes by, hoping to see them again. But until then, we simply cannot.

Fenris and I decided to head outside and train a bit together. We really haven’t done much given the fact of we often have either been inside resting, or that the best place to train is right outside the living room, which often was occupied by my knights.

While I still maintain some measure physical training with my tai chi katas, nothing can truly compare to simply going outside and getting the blood flowing and the heart pumping by beating out the cold.

Fenris and I slipped around the house sometime after breakfast and began sparring with each other. The weather, while still cold, isn’t bad enough to where we couldn’t much of anything. Although, even while wearing clothing meant for cold weather training, cold winds can still bite deeply into you.

Most of our training consisted of dodging and pelting each other with snowballs. However I decided to bring out my bokken with me for extra practice.

We dash around, kicking up snow, melting some and refreezing it. He’d shatter some of the ice and launch it towards me. I’d counter by engulfing my tails in flame, melting the ice back down as I swirled through the air and reforming it into ice, hurling it back at him. A few of the shards and snowballs tend to shoot past us, only to slam into the barrier I had erected before we began our session.

Yeah, I’m not going to risk causing any damage to my home just because our training could get out of hand.

I dash at him, swinging my sword down, gathering snow and ice, bringing it at him. Fenris would then summon snow from the ground and form it into a blade, meeting my own with his. We danced and twirled, feeling our feet slamming hard into the soft snow. With every slash and swing of our swords, the resulting magic kicked up even more snow, freezing into cresting waves of ice on the ground.

He then leaps into a shadow and emerges behind me. I grin and dodge, launching several kitsune-bi at him. He leans just enough for the balls of bluish-white spectral flame to pass by him and into the shadow. I am soon pelted by those same flames as they fly out of a shadow to my left, causing me to stagger a bit.

I smirk as he lands, swishing his tails. I then look at him, knowing that I have to keep my guard up while using magic with him, always have.

We then resume our session, with even more magic flying through the air, from both users and shadows as even orbs and ice shards fly about from all angles, forcing me to dodge and parry them away with my bokken.

I know it can never truly replace my kodachi, it still feels good to hold a sword again. I thank the dryads for making this for me. A sword made from condensed hardwood and shaped into a proper kodachi. It’s slightly heavier than the real thing, but it’s for a good reason.

The two of us smile to each other, knowing how good it is to finally get outside and do some training again. Tails fly through the air as snow, ice, and flames soar about. Chilled winds whip and snap around us, now feeling natural to us as it seems to beckon at our command. I don’t even register the cold at this point.

After a few more hard and furious minutes, we finally bring our session to an end.

I drop to my knees, panting heavily, my lungs burning from breathing in the cold winter air. A sign that I really enjoyed my workout. The cold soft snow felt good under my body, feeling it against my legs. A smile stretches across my face, watching as thick puffs of visible breath from my panting.

Fenris calmly steps over to me, gently nudging my face. “Would you like to return inside, little Aria and rest?”

I shake my head, peering up to him. “Do you think we can instead try and fuse again?”

The massive wolf smiles, licking my face, “We can indeed, little Aria.”

I smile and stand back up, with Fenris helping me to my feet.

I turn and face the ocean, the distant sound of crashing waves echo into my ears. I take several long and deep breaths, trying to calm my beating heart.

My eyes slowly close, feeling my heart rhythm slowing, becoming steady. The wind blows softly against my face, gently catching my hair and tails. My body relaxes, the tension from our session quickly drains from me.

My ears begin to pick up a second heartbeat, strong and steady. It beats with pride and joy. It too begins to settle my mind even further, quieting it as our hearts begin to beat as one.

I know who I am, that is what I had to realize the first time we fused. But now that is no longer in doubt.

“Fenris,” I whisper.

The wolf howls, feeling him disappearing from my side and into my shadow. His power quickly becomes one with my own, adding to it, making it stronger than before.

My body begins to swell with power, causing it to grow taller, more mature. Much how it did the first time we fused. That same feeling seems to travel along my tails and down from the top of my head. I take another breath as the snow at my feet then blows away as the power erupts from me, leaving a small, nearly clear circle of ground.

I slowly open my eyes, smiling. I feel at peace as the wind gently caresses my face.

“At last,” I hear him speaking within my mind, “we were able to achieve this state thanks to the storm within your heart having finally quelled.”

My smile widens as my tails swish softly on the snow. I know my trip to the shrine, talking to Miriam, hearing the good news from Tariel and Savero, and even my date with Kenji, all helped in breaking me free of my depression and anxiety. So in many ways, returning to Japan was the best accident I could have asked for.

I hear the outer doors leading to the living room slide open behind me. “Aria, why did the house sha… All right, who are you and what have you done to my sister?” I feel her magic beginning to swell as she steps onto the snow.

I smile, slowly turning to face her. “I’m right here, Marron.”

She stops dead into her tracks. Her eyes grow wide with disbelief as she stares. “Aria, is…is that you?”

My head slowly nods, “It is,” I say calmly. “This is the fusion I told you about back in September.”

Her eyes scan me, “You look older, maybe in your mid-twenties.” She smirks softly, “You look a little like your mother now, even sound like her. Not mention your hair and tails are now like Fenris’.”

I tilt my head, “I do?”

She smiles, stepping into the yard, and pulls out a mirror, handing it to me.

My eyes bulge as I stare at myself. She’s right, I do look a bit like Mom. I stare in to my eyes, seeing that they are now like Fenris’, with the whites now black and the irises’ now ice-blue. This is something that I haven't seen in a long time, possibly since we first bonded. My hair and ears are also once more the same shade of black as Fenris’ fur. I look down to see my tails are again covered in black fur with the tips fading into a bluish-silver, same as the tips of my hair.

My cheeks blush softly, panning up to look at her. A smirk forms on my face, you’re still a bit taller than me.

“How is this possible?” she asks.

I smile, handing back her mirror. “Well, do you know of the mana-bond that Mom and I share?”

She smiles, “She explained a little of it to me.”

My cheeks still burn a soft red, “Well…when she created the necklace, she infused part of her essence into it. So when I transformed for the first time, that essence poured into me, partially shaping how I look now.”

Her smile then broadens, “So this is what you might look like in ten years.” She leans in closer, “You’re going to make a lot of people jealous, sweetie.” I blush a little more.

She chuckles, “How do you feel?”

I look over myself, “It’s weird having this much power,” smirking, “not to mention looking like an adult. I will admit to feeling some strain on me. It doesn’t hurt, just taxing.”

She crosses her arms, still grinning, “You look absolutely beautiful as an adult. To be honest, I myself a bit jealous of you.”

I look up at her, “Marron, you’re just as beautiful. I’ve know that from the first day I met you.” My eyes dart away, “It’s just going to take me a decade to reach this.”

She laughs softly, ruffling my hair, “Still as self-conscious as always.” I giggle. She leans in, kissing my forehead, “Thank you, sweetie.”

I smile to her.

She leans back. “Do you think we might have to start sharing clothes now?”

I wrap my tails around me, smiling, “Nope, I only look like this when he and I fused together.”

She nods, smiling.

I hold my arm behind my back, “You’re the second person to see me like this. Fenris and I tried to perfect it while at the Ranch, but we did it far away from the house so that no one could see us.”

Marron tilts her head, “Who was the first?”

“Diana.” I really wanted to show Silvi this, but…we know that never happened.

She sighs, nodding. “Well, I can see why you’d want to. I remember you saying that your heart was unstable at the time. So this doing away from everyone was the right call.” Her smile then returns, “If you could really perfect this, this could become your greatest trump card in any fight in the future.”

I shift slightly on my legs, “I agree, but as of right now, there’s a strain on me that is still quite significant. I don’t feel it as much right now as I did when I fought Diana. That time I was really badly injured and Fenris was doing everything he could to keep the pain at bay while I fought. Beyond that, we’re just guessing at this point. We need to find some way to better understand it.”

I unfurl my tails just a bit to better cover myself. “The only other person who could even remotely come close to knowing anything about this would be Jenn. She explained that she couldn’t fully explain it to me as there’s a vast difference to how she and her familiar are bonded and how Fenris and I are.”

She smiles, folding her arms, “Well, if there’s anyone who can figure this out it’ll be you.”

I smile, “Thanks, Marron.”

My ears then flick as the sounds of more footsteps creaking on the deck. I peer around Marron to see Yukari and my knights looking at me.

“Who are you?” asks my aunt. My knights equally look at me with suspicion, hands slowly reaching for their weapons.

I smile, shaking my head, “It’s just me, everyone.” I turn to my knights, “There’s no need to worry.”

Their hands suddenly stop. “Your Highness?” asks Orga.

I giggle, nodding, “The one and only.”

“Is…is this what you meant when you told Asharyume and I about fusing with Fenris?” asks Yukari.

I grin, nodding, “Yep.”

She smiles, “You look incredible my dear. So mature and ladylike.”

I blush softly, “I’m still just kid, Yukari.”

She grins, walking over to me, “Is this form permanent?”

“Nope,” I reply. “It only lasts as long as Fenris and I are able maintain the fusion.”

Her head nods, still baring a broad smile. “Your aura is incredibly powerful my dear. If I have to take a gander, you possibly could be on par with a kyuubi of over two centuries your senior. Yet still slightly unrefined.”

I dip my head, “That’s what time and practice is for.”

She playfully tugs on my ear, “Namaikina kitsune.” I giggle loudly.

In truth I do need time. I need to be able to bring this under a bit more control. While I am calm, Fenris and I have to find some way to better understand this. I never let praise like that go to my head. I train hard to better understand anything and everything around me. But another truth is that I simply have nothing to go off of.

Orga and Kateryna come closer to me. He looks me over, examining me. Not to say that I blame him.

“You look like your mother, Your Highness,” he says, echoing what Marron told me.

I smile to him, “Thank you, Orga.”

His eyes blink, “You even sound like her.”

I giggle softly, “Well…if I spent another five to six years with her, I have no doubt that my accent will naturally change. If only a little.”

Marron chuckles, “You might even pick up a few of her verbal ticks.”

I smirk, looking to her, “Like how I did from the our old Lolita group?”

She chuckles, ruffling my hair.

“Is this what we felt the night we fought Regulus and Selene?” asks Kateryna.

I tilt my head, “What do you mean?”

She looks to me, “During our battle, a sudden wave a magic blew over us, momentarily caused everyone to pause. Her Ladyship mentioned that she sensed that our victory was near, but was short-lived when Regulus freed Selene from our custody.”

I look at her curiously, “You felt the moment we fused from that far out?”

She nods, “Indeed, Your Highness. But truth be told, we couldn't truly understand what it was that we felt.”

I blush softly. That’s kinda nuts if you ask me. Mom never told me anything about her battle with Regulus, granted I never told about fusing with Fenris.

“Are you able to separate?” asks Yukari.

I close my eyes, knowing that Fenris has been watching quietly within me. I take several deep breaths, feeling the power slowly diminish from my body as we begin to split apart as he leaves me. as his presence exits my body, my body itself begins to shrink back down to normal.

For a moment, it’s bit weird not feeling my bonded within me. In fact I feel lonely in some strange way.

I open my eyes to something furred brushing up against my hand. I look over to see Fenris stand beside me. I grin, stroking his muzzle. He groans happily, pressing closer to me.

“We have come far, little one,” he says. “But there is still much more to learn.”

I smile, turning to him and pressing my face against his. “I know, Papa Wolf.”

He gently bats my chest with nuzzles, making me giggle tenderly.

I turn and look up at everyone. They smile gently and warmly to me. I grin, swishing my tails softly in the snow. Yukari wraps her tails around mine. I still have a family, gazing at everyone. Granted all I’m missing at the moment is Asha. But I know she’ll be here for Christmas.

“I know for certain you must be hungry Your Highness,” asks Kateryna. “With your training session and now this, I have no doubt that you are.”

I nod, but then hear my stomach grumble loudly, causing everyone to laugh. Marron and Yukari pull me towards them as we start to head inside.

My aunt looks down at me, “With Christmas and the new year coming up on its heels, you should be thinking about your future my niece.”

I nod slowly. For now it can wait.