TAMA

Fuyuki "Tama" Tamaneko sat up in bed, drenched in sweat. It had just been a nightmare—thank the Elements. But the memories lingered. A burning village. People screaming. Her mother... Tama felt a tightness in her chest, her body trembling. She clenched her fists, forcing herself to breathe. Before she could gather her thoughts, a loud crash echoed from outside. Tama jumped out of bed and rushed toward the source of the noise, grabbing her dagger as she left her room. She tensed as she stepped into the cold, brisk air, glancing around for the disturbance, combat stance ready just as sensei had taught her. After a moment, however, she lowered her guard as she saw what the commotion had been. "Awww, come on! Not again!" Tama cried as she saw a large boar had rammed itself into the chicken coop. No doubt trying to get the eggs again. Tama was like 110% sure boars weren't supposed to even eat eggs; most boars didn't even touch the chicken coop. That meant this one was Jiggle—she had named him that because of the way he jiggled. Also, because he liked to try and jiggle his way into the chicken coop. Frowning, Tama threw her dagger down, embedding it into the wooden step, and stormed over to the fat boar. "Alright then, time to get you out!"

Tama’s ears—perked and purple-furred—pinned flat as Jiggle’s squeals assaulted them. She hissed, a wholly inhuman sound, before launching herself at the boar. Her tail lashed behind her like an indignant metronome, its fur fluffing to twice its size. Water swirled around her fists on instinct, scattering droplets that caught in her wild royal purple hair.

Tama gritted her teeth, wrestling against Jiggle’s flailing limbs. Despite his thrashing and indignant yowls, she proved stronger—hauling the scruffy offender out of the chicken pen and plopping him unceremoniously into the no-no cage. “Bad Jiggle!” she scolded, hands on her hips. “You absolutely know better!” A suspicious glint in his amber eyes betrayed no remorse. “You do this on purpose,” she huffed, “just to get Tama in trouble!” “Does what on purpose, little one?” The wizened voice crept over Tama’s shoulder like a spider. She froze, a chill crawling up her spine, before spinning to face her sensei with a smile too sweet to trust.

He loomed over her, a towering figure at 6’3” with a clean-shaven face etched by decades of stern judgment. His storm-gray hair stuck up in its usual disheveled mop, but it was his eyes that pinned her in place—piercing blue, sharp as winter ice, glinting with a mix of amusement and trouble. Tama’s stomach dropped. That look never ended well.

“Well, sensei, you see…” She clasped her hands behind her back, rocking onto her toes. “It wasn’t Tama’s fault! We were ambushed! A whole horde of goblins—fang-toothed, slobbering ones—right in the middle of the forest! And then these… these demons swooped down, all claws and curses!” Her voice pitched higher, fingers fluttering dramatically. “Poor Jiggle was trembling! I had to free the boar! It was heroic, really! A-and we barely escaped with our lives!”

The lie hung in the air, brittle as autumn leaves. Her sensei’s eyebrow inched upward.

The old man stood silently listening to her story, a look of bemusement on his face.

"So sensei, as you can see, Tama HAD to let Jiggle out last night! It was of world-ending importance!"

The old man simply nodded and smiled down at his protege before asking, "Is that so?"

Tama, believing she might have escaped punishment, nodded aggressively, looking serious. "Tama did her very best, but with Jiggle, she had saved the day!"

The old man simply continued smiling as he nodded. "I see. Well, since the two of you were so strong and brave, I am certain you are both just as responsible!"

Tama's face fell as she realized where this was going. "Well, Tama isn't *that* responsible! She is only 16 after all! Tama has lots of growing to do!"

The old man chuckled at her and nodded. "Indeed, little one, you do, and you can start by fixing the chicken coop and feeding Jiggle and his brothers instead of playing today."

Tama's ears deflated to her sides. She opened her mouth to argue, then thought better of it. She was being spared a lecture right now; all she had to do was an extra chore. That seemed super lenient.

"That is, of course, after you get dressed," the man said with a sly smirk.

Tama paused as she considered his words before looking down at herself. She wore nothing but a bra and panties. Mud and filth from wrestling Jiggle coated her from head to toe. She looked up at him, unperturbed about her current appearance, and simply bowed to her sensei before seemingly vanishing into thin air.

Her sensei smiled as Tama used her wind to travel back to her room. At least she had some decency now. Before, she would have been completely naked and argued with him. "It seems I am getting through to her little by little." He sounded proud if a bit melancholic before turning and walking back towards the cabin as well.

Tama appeared in her room and immediately rolled her eyes. "Get dressed, sensei says. *'It's inappropriate,'* he complains," she mumbles under her breath as water begins to form on her hands and swirl over her body, cleaning all the mud and filth off of her and pulling it together into a ball which she lets fall into a bucket next to her dresser.

The mud-ball plopped into the bucket with a wet glop. Tama shook herself, sending water droplets flying from the tips of her ears. She eyed her reflection in the window—slit-pupiled gaze, sleep-tangled royal purple mane, a cowlick that defied both gravity and sensei’s nagging. Perfect.

She looks at her bra and panties. Both wet, but technically wet was not dirty! "Besides, it's not like sensei will know if Tama skips changing. He's always on about decency—he'd never check!"

With these thoughts in mind, Tama opted to keep her soaking wet underwear on since it felt nice and cool, instead opting to put on her t-shirt, pants, and overalls. She looked meaningfully at her ninja garb on the rack before sighing and sliding her closet door shut. She only had three outfits: one for work, one for play, and one for ninja stuff. Now was work time!

She turned to step out of her room when her sensei's voice traveled on the wind: "You better have changed your underwear, Tama. You will get sick if you don't."

Tama's face went red as she grumbled and began changing again.

With a frustrated huff, Tama threw down the hammer. She could be out playing in the woods; instead, she was fixing this stupid chicken coop! “Tama thinks Sensei does this just to upset her,” she muttered to herself, looking at the mostly repaired door. A snort from behind caused her to swing around and glare at Jiggle in his cage.

“This is all Jiggle’s fault!” she proclaimed with indignation. “Why do you get to sit in your cage while Tama cleans everything up?” In response, the boar simply snorted again and tried to ram the cage. Tama snorted herself, before ignoring the boar’s antics and turning around to finish the last of the door.

Before she could pick up her hammer, her Sensei’s voice came on the wind.

“Tama, come to me quickly. I have a task of great urgency.”

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

Tama hesitated for a moment—if it was an emergency, she could finish later. She quickly stood and vanished from where she stood, leaving Jiggle alone in his no-no cage.

She found her Sensei quickly in the house. He looked distressed as he read a letter, and Tama wondered what it said. She couldn’t read, much to her Sensei’s chagrin and repeated attempts to teach her.

“Good, you’re here, Tama. I have an errand for you to run. You are to go and come back quickly. Do not stop or gawk at anything. Do not slow. This is of great urgency!” Her Sensei turned to face her, a look of grim determination on his face.

Tama had never seen her Sensei look so serious before. Her tail stiffened, and her ears stood upright as fear gripped the young nekojin.

“Tama will do her best, Sensei!” she spoke in a determined tone. She didn’t know what had Sensei so worried, but she would help in any way she could!

Her Sensei seemed to ponder for a long moment, looking into her eyes before slowly nodding. “Yes, it is time. I have been hesitant, but you are of age now. It is only right.”

Tama looked at him confused, her eyes full of puzzlement. What did her Sensei mean? A terrifying thought crossed her mind.

“Tama does not want more chores!” she cried suddenly, her tail going straight, and her ears flattening against her skull.

Her Sensei stared at her as if reconsidering what he was about to do. But then his face took on a grim resolve once more.

“Tama, my dearest protege, it is time for you to grow up. I have done what I can to teach you. But you are an adult now. At sixteen years of age, I cannot treat you as a child anymore.” His eyes softened, and tears welled in them, threatening to spill over. “To this end, as one I have seen as my child for so long, I give you a gift. May it protect you forevermore, my dearest daughter.”

Tama froze, shock washing over her. Fear shifted to panic, and she began to move. Her Sensei was faster, and a moment later, she was in his arms, crying.

“Do not worry, little one,” he said softly, his voice steady. “I will always protect you.” He gently pushed her back and, as if pulling from thin air, a long, thin box appeared in his hands. Tama’s breath caught in her throat. She had a feeling she knew what it was.

She began to choke up, her voice barely a whisper. “Tama is… Tama is not ready…”

Her Sensei looked down at her, silencing her protests with a quiet, firm gaze.

Tama looked at the case, slowly, reverently. She took the box from her sensei's hands and opened it. The edge was sharp, the surface of the blade gleamed, it's hilt a familiar design. Tama stared at the katana.. no, at her katana inside the box in disbelief.

Tears welled in her eyes as she tried once again to protest. But no words would leave her lips. She could not think. Instead she just smiled at her sensei as she began to cry.

Tama rushed through the forest as fast as she could, dashing from branch to branch, practically invisible to her surroundings. A katana sheathed on her back, her hair held down by her wind affinity as she gleaned every ounce of speed she could to reach her destination.

Tama traveled for hours without rest before reaching the edge of the forest she had lived in her entire life. At its edge, she paused. The package held in her hand, small and round, smelled like rotten eggs. Tama did not understand why her sensei had told her to take it and run. He did not explain anything. Yet Tama understood all she needed to. She would do what her sensei wished. Tears welled in her eyes, threatening to consume her, but she wiped them away. She would not fail. One last glance was all she took of the forest that had once been her home. Then Tama jumped from the perch she stood upon, disappearing only to appear on the grassy ground. Taking a deep, shuddering breath, she looked at the large wall in front of her and began making her way toward it.

As she approached, she heard voices, causing her ears to perk up and her tail to shift slightly in its movement. “Come here, little fox girl, we only want to play a little. He he,” one of the voices said. Tama felt a shiver down her spine. That did not sound right. But Tama couldn’t place why. “Please leave me alone!” another voice said. It sounded scared.

Tama moved before she could think. Like a ghost in the wind, Tama was gone. Suddenly appearing much closer to the gates of the large wall she had seen, the entrance to the town loomed ahead. To the left, however, she heard the voices: “Don’t be like that, you know you want this. Walking around dressed like that!” A memory flashed in Tama’s mind of her sensei’s warnings of decency, and her anger flared. She blinked and was suddenly standing about twenty feet behind a group of men holding weapons, surrounding a young fox girl up against the town wall.

Tama looked over to the guards and saw they were not going to intervene—not even paying attention! Memories flashed: a burning building, screams, cries of pain echoed in Tama’s mind. She acted without thought. Stepping forward, she drew her katana and pointed it at the nearest man. “You there, leave the fox girl alone or answer to Tama!” she said with a dangerous edge to her voice.

The men turned to look at her. There were six in total, wearing leather garments with short swords at their waists. The nearest one to her took one look at Tama—her ninja garb in full display, katana in hand, three small pouches adorning her waist, and four kunai along the strap across her front—and sneered. He pulled his own blade before walking toward her. “It seems another lovely lady wants to join us, bo—”

His words suddenly cut off as he stopped moving. A moment later, the top half of his body slid off the bottom half, decapitating him right at the chest area.

“Does anyone else wish to play with Tama?” Tama said, a sly grin on her face as both halves of the man fell to the ground.

The remaining five men all drew their swords and set themselves on guard. None of them seemed very happy with Tama’s antics. That was fine—Tama would be more than happy to make them feel better!

“Tama thinks you are all so tense!” she said as she playfully twirled her katana in a lazy arc. “Tama was just playing, like the nice man asked. It seems like you all want to play with Tama too!” A wide grin split her face before she vanished from sight.

A few seconds passed where there was total silence. Then one of the men fell to the ground, his head rolling off his neck. A purple blur was seen for but a mere moment before she was gone again. One man fled, only to have a kunai suddenly stick out of his back where his heart was. He fell to the ground, unmoving.

“Tama thinks this is fun!” The voice seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere all at once.

One of the men fell to his knees and started to sob, begging for mercy. “Please, we didn’t me—” He never finished his sentence as he fell to the side. Tama pulled her katana from his chest and pointed it at the remaining two.

The remaining men reacted quickly. One summoned earthen armor around his body, protecting his vital areas. The second created a ball of fire and lobbed it at Tama as hard as he could. Tama disappeared before the ball of fire even left the man’s hand. His lifeless body fell to the ground before the fire even reached its destination.

The last man stared in terror at the small ninja nekojin, his blade shaking in his hand. “You… You won’t get away with this,” he said, voice quavering with each syllable.

“Tama thinks she will, unless you have a plan to stop her?” Tama asked with amusement in her tone. Inside, Tama raged at the worthless men. They talked such a big game, planning to do such horrible things to a girl her age. Suddenly, she was there, and they had the audacity to pretend like they were in the right?!

The man looked at her, puzzled for a moment, before asking, “Who is Tama?”

His head fell to the ground, joining the others, as Tama wiped her blade and slid it back into its sheath. Her anger began to dissipate.

She turned to the girl she had just saved. Somehow, the foxkin was even shorter than her at around 5’1”. She had strawberry blonde hair that went down to her waist, emerald green eyes, and skin so pale Tama thought she might actually be looking at a ghost.

Tama blinked in front of her and held out a hand. “Nya! Nice to meet ya, Tama says hi!”