“Ow! Stop that!”
“Shitoro, is this really necessary?”
The tiger demon continued to chase Stephen around the room, firing bolts of magical energy at his backside.
“That really stings!”
“I’m going to do more than sting you, foul deceiver!” Shitoro shouted, shooting out small flecks of yellow power from his extended claws.
“Did he say something wrong?” Tamiko asked, wide-eyed.
“I do not know,” Kisaki replied, equally as confused.
“Call off your cat!” Stephen cried out as more of the tiny bolts hit him, leaving small crackling noises in its wake.
Shitoro leapt through the air and landed upon his back. “I ... am ... not ... a ... cat!”
“Is he playing?” Tamiko asked.
“I don’t think so.” Kisaki strode over to where Stephen was trying to pull the little youkai off of him. “Sorry. I’ve never seen him act like this. That’s enough, Shitoro. I mean it!” She pulled him off the human, taking a few shreds of shirt with him. “What is the matter with you? All he did was offer you some milk.”
“Not really a punishable offense,” Tamiko agreed.
“It has nothing to do with milk,” Shitoro said, his teeth bared. “Go on, tell them.”
“Tell them what?” Stephen glared at him. “I have no idea what you’re talking about, you pint-sized psycho.”
“Tell them your name.”
“I already did. It’s Steve Fuller. My parents are Myra and...”
“I do not care about your parents,” Shitoro hissed. “I care about you and the foul magic you are using to deceive Lady Kisaki, wizard!”
“Wizard?!”
Tamiko turned to Kisaki. “Are you following any of this?”
“No, I am not.”
“Good. I hate being the only one left in the dark.”
“You’re not making any sense, Shitoro.” Kisaki walked him back to his chair and placed him upon it. When he looked as if he were going to leap at Stephen again, she stepped in front of him and pointed her finger at the seat. After a moment, he acquiesced and sat, although his eyes never left their host.
“I swear I have no idea what I’ve done,” Stephen said, rubbing his singed backside.
Tamiko looked between them all, then turned to Kisaki. “Do you two need a moment?”
Kisaki shrugged. “Perhaps that is not a bad idea.”
Tamiko stepped up to Stephen and entwined her arm in his. “Come on. You promised us some lemonade. I’ll help you get it. I’ve never seen an American kitchen before.”
“Ouch!”
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” he replied, leading her out of the room. “But first maybe we can stop so I can change my clothes and grab some Band-Aids.”
♦ ♦ ♦
Kisaki sat down opposite Shitoro. She stared at the tiger demon, who locked eyes with her for a moment before turning away. There was something in her gaze that was different, although he couldn’t quite put his finger upon it.
“Explain yourself, Shitoro.”
“There is nothing to explain, except to say that you should not trust that deceiver.”
“Explain yourself,” Kisaki repeated, somehow doing a good enough impersonation of her mother that Shitoro’s mouth dropped open in surprise.
“Yes, m-my lady,” he quickly said. “Where to begin?”
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“At the beginning, perhaps?” she replied with a smile.
Shitoro’s eyes narrowed, but then he did as he was told. “Your mother met your father shortly after awakening from a three-hundred-year nap.”
“Why had my mother been asleep?”
“Boredom,” he replied. “The daimao often sleep for centuries at a stretch. It helps pass the time. Eternal life is a life often spent doing the same things while viewing the same sights over and over again. Even with the breadth of the multiverse at one’s fingertips, it would be enough to drive one mad after several millennia. If anything, you were born into a unique age. I do not ever recall a time before now when all of the daimao were awake and active together for so long. Often a few or more will continue to slumber even when their brothers and sisters are up and about. It is all part of the celestial cycle.”
“But you said something is different about now. What?”
“In the past, travel between Earth and the palace was commonplace. Nothing was thought of it. Mazoku and youkai alike would come and go. Even the daimao themselves frequently made the journey.”
“But you said it was forbidden.”
“It is now.”
“Why?”
He waved a hand dismissively. “It is of no concern for what I am trying to tell you. What is, is that your mother was one of the last of the daimao to visit Earth. It wasn’t a trip of any great importance. She merely wanted to stretch her legs after her slumber. But it was during that excursion that she met your father.”
Kisaki smiled as if appreciating hearing this, which Shitoro imagined she did. Though loyal to his mistress, he was not without empathy for the girl’s plight. Before coming here, she’d never been given reason to even consider the concept of a father. But now that it was out, he was certain it was like a growing seed inside of her. She’d always been a curious child, but now she had a focus for that curiosity: her own origin. He needed to tread carefully, but it was difficult to do when she was giving him orders in a tone that he instinctively wanted to obey.
“I’m still not following what this has to do with Stephen being a wizard,” she said.
“It is simple,” Shitoro replied, leaning forward. “The lying cur is not what he seems. He is your father!”
♦ ♦ ♦
“What?!” Kisaki cried.
“Everything okay in there?” Tamiko called from elsewhere in the house.
“Yes, yes,” Shitoro replied. “Stop eavesdropping!”
“No, it is not okay,” Kisaki replied to him, but in a low voice. “What do you mean, he’s my father?”
“Exactly as I have said.” Shitoro hopped off the chair and walked over to stand next to Kisaki. He put his hand upon hers as if to be comforting. “Poor, ignorant child. I know this must be difficult to hear.”
“It is more difficult to understand. Explain yourself.”
“Have I not already?” When she didn’t answer, he gave a pained sigh. “Very well. As I have told you, I was once your mother’s chief servant. For nearly fourteen centuries, I served her faithfully. As a result, I gained her trust. Upon her return from Earth, she seemed different. I inquired as to this.” Kisaki raised an eyebrow, to which he added, “Not to pry, but because I was concerned for her. Powerful as the daimao may be, I still worry about your mother’s well-being.”
“I would never question your loyalty, Shitoro. Don’t worry.”
“I am glad to hear that. Your mother told me about the human she met. According to her, he was different from the rest, obviously from elsewhere than the blessed isles yet sharing the same warrior spirit that the heroes of old possessed. Once she started talking, she could not stop speaking of him. She said he was kind, smart, exotically handsome. His touch was...” He stopped and looked at Kisaki, as if noticing her there for the first time. “Well, never you mind that. Suffice it to say, your mother was smitten with him and it sounded as if he felt the same, although in his case, I cannot say I find that surprising. Your mother is a divine beauty, unrivaled in all of the...”
“I get the point,” Kisaki interrupted. “My father?”
“Your mother has never lacked for suitors within the celestial palace, including some who are clearly unworthy of her.” His face clouded over for a moment as he seemingly became lost in the memory, but then he looked up and resumed. “But none caught her interest, at least until she met this human. They had one night together, just one, but in that time, she gave herself fully to him. You were the result of their short time together.”
Kisaki smiled as she pictured it. Though she had no suitors herself, locked away as she’d been, she’d read a great deal. The stories of war and battle were the ones that caught her attention most, but many of those tales had undertones of romance, some of them epic in their scope. She would be lying if she claimed to have never fantasized about the doors to her mother’s chamber being kicked open from the outside and in striding a great warrior come to claim her.
“But if they connected so deeply, why just one night?” she asked after a moment.
“The edict,” Shitoro explained. “Travel to Earth was forbidden soon after she and your father met. It was only later that she realized she was with child.”
“So what happened?”
“You were born and subsequently bequeathed the greatest of gifts,” he said, grinning.
“Let me guess,” Kisaki replied with a smile. “You as my guardian?”
“Precisely.”
“But my father?”
“Your mother kept tabs on him for a time. Her powers are vast and she had touched him with them. Even years later, she was still able to reach out across the vast distance separating them and feel him.”
“For how long?”
“A few decades. Over the years, your father moved on, chose a new mate, and had cubs of his own. Your mother didn’t begrudge him his happiness, knowing that humans were as short lived as they are. After a time, though, her influence faded from him and she learned no more. This area of Earth was the last known place she was aware of him residing. It is why we came here.”
“I don’t understand.”
“The crystal,” he explained. “Because we were in contact, it reached into my mind, sensed I had knowledge related to your wish, and brought us.”
“That still doesn’t explain why you think Stephen...”
“I wasn’t finished,” Shitoro said, leaning forward and lowering his voice again. “For I now see that somehow he was able to fool your mother.”
“Fool Mother? But how?”
“It would appear your father was seemingly more than either of us thought.”
“But why...”
“I did not lie when I said your mother shared all of this with me. And what she shared included your father’s name ... and that name was Stephen Fuller.”