After Yuki and Nana received their tokens to get their rewards, the elder in charge clapped his hands once more. “Alright. It is still early, so we can return to the sect before nightfall. I hope that you all have learned a lot from this experience.”

The trip home was a quiet one. All the disciples were tired. Yuki and Nana were not as bad off, but they both really wanted to have a bath. Elder Nishikawa appeared next to the two girls as they walked. “When you two return. Take a few days rest and just cultivate. Do not leave the sect for the next few days. You both had a close call this time, so I want you to at least get some proper rest.”

“Mmm. We will.” Yuki answered in a low voice. She had planned on resting anyways. Her poor tail was in need of some much needed maintenance, and she also had to have a long talk with Nana when they were not under surveillance.

The trip once more took almost all day. When they arrived at the sect, everyone split up. Elder Nishikawa once more reminded the two girls to take it easy before leaving to make a report. “Yuki! Nana!”

Ami, who was helping Ai, stopped in front of the two girls. “We will be returning first. Yuki, Nana. We both owe you our lives. I know we are friends already, but I still wish to say that if you ever need me, just ask. You sacrificed a lot to keep us alive. We are both truly grateful.”

“Yes, as Ami said, we are truly grateful. Thank you. I really thought I was going to die.” Ai lowered her head, as did Ami.

“It’s fine. As you said, we are friends.” Yuki replied. She did what she felt was right at the time. Even if she did second guess herself, she still decided to save these two so she could at least consider them friends.

Both Ami and Ai were happy to know that Yuki actually considered them friends. The smile on their faces could not be hidden. “Then we will take our leave first. We will work hard and grow in strength so that we will not be a burden to you two. Just give us some time.”

While Ami and Ai had ended up returning much earlier than expected to the camp, they had a lot of time to think about what they wanted to do from here on out. And they both decided that if they wanted to stay beside Yuki and Nana and go on missions with them, then they would need to work even harder to catch up to their strength. It might not be easy, but they were determined more than ever. As the people who kept them alive, they wanted to repay them in some way.

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Yuki thought for a moment before saying. “This weekend, let’s meet up.”

“Okay! We will meet on the weekend!” Ami and Ai waved goodbye before walking towards their courtyards.

Nana and Yuki had to walk up to their courtyards which took a while. When they returned, they both returned to their own rooms. There they both had the same mindset. They undressed and went straight to the baths.

Yuki had a lot on her mind as she looked at the tangled mess of a tail. She sighed as she washed her body off before getting into the bath and slowly working the tangles out. She was about to decide whether or not to show Nana her true form or not. There were many risks in doing so, but after being with Nana for the past three months and only having each other to rely on, she now had a deep trust for the dragon girl.

Leaning back in the bath, Yuki looked up at the stone ceiling and sighed. “I guess I can….”

“Yuki?” A voice came from outside her bathroom door.

Yuki took a deep breath. It was now or never. She checked her tail once more to make sure it was in tip top shape before saying: “You can come in, Nana.”

Nana blushed slightly as she opened the door. But what she saw, she did not expect. Lying in the bath was not a black haired girl she was used to seeing. While her face was the same, the white hair and fox ears on her head were nowhere close to anything she remembered Yuki looking like. And then there was the tail that the girl was grooming with all her might. “Yuki?”

“Yes?” Yuki turned and looked at Nana, who was already in her dragon form, staring at her with a face full of surprise. “Oh? Yeah, I figured I could finally show you my true form. I had planned to show you earlier, but I can not let others see. Just like you can not let others see you.”

Nana’s heart swelled with warmth. She even began to tear up. She looked at the cut fox girl in front of her and wanted to fluff her tail! Although she would need to wait until it was dry. But just the thought of it made her want to start fluffing. She walked over and knelt down next to the bathtub and rested her arms on the edge looking at Yuki’s face and down her body.

Yuki felt like she was being thoroughly inspected. She had expected this much, but being naked while being stared at so intently made her slightly embarrassed. “Don’t stare too hard….” Yuki said with pursed lips. This caused Nana to retract her gaze as she blushed from ear to ear.

“S-sorry. I was just….” Nana tried to explain but stopped because she knew it would just make her seem like a pervert. But she had to admit Yuki was definitely cute, whether with clothes on or without.