XI
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Arc XI Chapter 12
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A lone mountain pass near the border to the snake clan has been chosen and was agreed upon as the assembly area. A military camp of bivouacs and tents rose from nothing as more and more forces assembled. Now that their respective delegations had arrived, the arduous rounds of diplomatic talks had begun under the cover of a large tent. The alliance of threatened clans had been assembled, or rather the alliance of cute threatened clans, a fact that didn't escape Yuki's notice. Much to her delight, it was an alliance consisting mainly of cute and fluffy animals. She wanted to tickle and pat all of them!
The cats sent their representatives. The red pandas sent their representatives. The hedgehogs sent their representatives. The otters sent their representatives. The beavers sent their representatives.The rabbits sent their representatives. The squirrel sent their representatives. The weasels sent their representatives. And last but not least, even the tanuki sent their representatives.
Yuki smiled. They were all so cute and cuddly, not to mention and supremely fuzzy. And yet, they were all united in their purpose to fight an old and common enemy, the evil snake clan. The expansion of the snakes had to be halted at any price until it was too late. Everyone knew what was at risk here and that time was of the essence! Nevertheless, old grievances were not entirely forgotten and prejudices lingered.
A red panda raised his paw, pointing at Katsuki with an accusing tone, “How can we be certain that you won't betray us yet again, Princess Katsuki? After all, it was you and yours who sold us out during the last war! Everyone knows that you cats are a treacherous clan without the slightest sense of honour!”
Katsuki was obviously forced to defend official neko policy, “We aren't!”
The red panda narrowed his eyes, his position irreconcilable. “You are. You are nothing but opportunistic cowards! Your resolve is as weak as your fur’s fluffiness!”
Katsuki pouted, fuming. “Hold your tongue! I won’t allow you to besmirch the honour of the glorious neko clan, you ... Mmmmmm! Mmmmm! Mmmmmmm!”
Yuki intervened, holding Katsuki back, closing her mouth with her fingers, blocking any of her attempts to speak further. These talks were too important to be ruined by individual sentiments. The needs of many were more important than the wounded pride of a single kitten.
All that was left to Katsuki was to mumble and protest, “Mmmm! Mmmm! Mmmmmmm!”
Yuki smiled, taking the word instead. “We do not want to disagree, but you should not forget that the neko clan has hardly profited from our betrayal. Rather the opposite. We have suffered the consequences of our disloyalty. The snake clan backstabbed us at the first best opportunity.”
“...” The red panda grumbled, but her words calmed his mood. “Fair enough ...”
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“Sssssss, greetingssss everyone.” An uninvited visitor arrived. It was a snake. Everyone turned, startled by its appearance.
The red panda raised his paw. “Who are you? And what are you doing here?”
“Ssssss, who I am isssss not important. I am an emisssssssary of the sssssnake clan, and we have caught wind of your ridiculoussssss alliancccccce of weaklingsssss. I mussssst ssssay that we find yourrrrrr laughable effortsssss to consssssspire againsssssst usssss amussssssing. Neverthelesssssssss, the White Ssssssnake Sssssage felt compelled to disssssspatch a ssssssmall expeditionary forcccccce to make our possssssition known.” The snake smirked, antagonising every clan in the tent on the spot, not to mention annoying everyone present with his lisping.
Katsuki fumed. “Was that all you wanted to say? Don't you have anything better to do than sneak in and throw insults at us?”
“Of coursssse. Of coursssse.” The snake grinned, his tongue lisping. “Assss a matter of fact, I am here to pressssssent you with an ultimaaaaatum. Our demandsssss are sssssimple, disssssolve your feeble allianccccce and ssssssurrender your armssssss. Ssssssubmit to our power and we might ssssshow mercccccy. Oppossssse us, howeverrrrr, and our forcessssss will crush youuuuu all. You have time until tomorrow afternoon to surrrrrrender before we attaaaaack.”
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Katsuki was wandering back and forth under the roof of their tent, deeply unsettled.
The talks rested in the light of recent events, despite time being precious. The delegations had decided to retreat to their tents to consult with each other before they would reconvene the dawn of morning. “What shall we do? What shall we do?”
Yuki merely smiled, trying to soothe her fluffy feline friend, “Don't worry, Katsuki. Everything will be fine. Nothing is lost yet.”
Katsuki looked at her with worried eyes. “Do you think so?”
Yuki nodded. “Yes, confidence, Katsuki, have confidence! A battle is only lost when you give up! That is at least what Nee-san says.”
“Hmm ...” Katsuki pondered, her paw rubbing at her chin. “I guess we need to fight then ...”
“Ssss, not necesssssssarily.” An old friend returned, slithering its way into the tent. It was the emissary of the snake clan.
Katsuki jumped up in shock, quickly hiding behind Yuki's legs. “Waw, a snake! GUARDS ...”
“Ssss, no need to call the guardssssss, Princess Katsuki. I am coming in peaccccccce. In fact, I have an offer for you and the neko clan.”
“An offer?” Katsuki peeked at the snake from her cover.
The snake nodded. “Sssss, indeed. You and I both know well that your feeble alliance isssssss ultimately doomed to fail. That is why I offer you a way to ssssssssave your clan, Princcccccessssssss Katsssssssuki. Join ussssssss and we will sssssspare you.”
Katsuki hesitated. “You want me to betray ... the alliance?”
The snake nodded. “Yessss, together, we will destroy the minor clanssssss and take their lands. Of coursssssse, the neko clan will be duly compenssssssssated for your change of heart. Not only will we return the landsssssss that we have annexxxxxxed during the last war, but we will alssssssso return the neko ssssssage sssssssscroll as a ssssssign of our goodwill.”
Katsuki couldn't believe her ears. Her anger exploded. “So it was you who stole our sacred neko sage scroll!”
The snake smirked. “Correct, we are guilty asssssss charged. It was child'ssssssss play.”
“But how?” Katsuki retorted. “The Neko guard protects the scroll with their lives. How were you able to penetrate our defences?”
The snake grinned. “Well, from what I heard, our agents struck during the grand neko nap fessssstival …”
“Oh, … the … nap … festival … ” Katsuki fell profoundly silent.
“The grand neko nap festival?” Yuki tilted her head.
“Yessss, we sssstruck during the yearly fessstival under the cover of ssssslumber. The Neko guard wassssssss ssssssssoundly assssssssleep on their mountainsssss of catnip when we arrived to perform our ssssssecret operation.”
“That ... sounds ... believable.” Katsuki lowered her head in shame, disappearing into the abyss of humiliation. “But in our defence, only the most vile fiend strikes during our sacred nap time. Have no honour?”
“Sssss, we are ssssssssnakes ... What do you expect, Princess Katssssssuki? Prey is besssst enjoyed while assssleeep.”
“...” Yuki was left speechless to the point of despairing. As it turned out, the Neko guard was really beyond useless ... No wonder that Nee-san had placed so little faith into the neko clan and their abilities ... They were truly incompetent ... How was it possible to get a national treasure stolen directly under your nose during nap time …
“Ssss, anyway, what do you think about our offer, Princess Katssssssssuki? Do you acccccccccept or not?”
Katsuki raised her paw, adopting a thinking posture. “Well, ...”
A simple stern glance from Yuki sufficed to shut down any frivolous thoughts that Katsuki's capricious kitten mind might hold. The message was clear, don't even think about it!
Katsuki merely gulped. “No ... No!!! We decline! The honour of the neko clan cannot be bought!”
The snake emissary narrowed his eyes. “I sssssssee, how unfortunate. I hope you and your fellow catssssssss will come to regret your decissssssssion sssssssssoon. Mark our wordssssssss, you all will pay dearly for oppossssssing usssssssss.”
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