SAKI
As they rushed through the streets, Saki trying and failing to claw herself free of the psychopath literally dragging her along. She noticed it was colder than it was earlier. Not like, slightly colder, but much colder. Saki frowned at this, it was like someone had decided to turn off the sun but leave the light on.
They finally stopped on the outskirts of town. Not even the guards had tried to stop Tama. It seems her charms from earlier had worked too well. She got up from the ground and dusted herself before wrapping her tail and arms around herself. She could feel her bones being chilled. What was this?
"Hey Tama, Maybe we should wait until tomorrow to do this dungeon? It's really cold…" Saki began to say before her voice trailed off. She smelled it, barely, but it was there. The smell of rot, decay. Tama had something on her since she had met her, but it seemed to come from a pouch on her waist. But this, it was coming from a specific direction and getting stronger.
Saki's body stilled as memories flashed. A burning forest, her family dead, a voice. Saki's eyes narrowed.
"Tama thinks so too, she is tired," Tama said suddenly. Saki could hear fear in the neko girl's tone for the first time since they had met, and something else? Was that... anger?
----------------------------------------
TAMA
"They have the village surrounded," Her father spoke, his voice solemn but there was a tremor in it.
"How many?" Her mother asked, her voice sounded strange. Usually so comforting and loving there was something new in it Tama didn't understand.
Tama also didn't like this smell, it was so strong and made her eyes water. "Mommy!" Tama cried "My nose hurts!"
Her mother looked down at her before bending down to pick her up and push her into herself. Her mother's scent helped bury the smell a little and Tama was grateful.
----------------------------------------
Tama reached for her katana, she felt anger like never before. A rage so powerful it overtook her being. But deep inside a new feeling warred within her. Fear, it was isolating, it was chilling, it felt like what Tamaneko was smelling. Wrong. Her tail curled up and her ears flattened. She was scared, but after a moment, the rage won out. Her tail unfurled and stood at attention as her ears perked up, she narrowed her eyes and took a combat stance. Water began to trickle around her as it warmed her body.
Tama looked to Saki with a look of pure determination. "Saki should go back to the village, Tama will handle this." Her voice sounded colder and she didn't know why. Was it the fear?
SAKI
Saki barely heard Tama's words, another voice filled her mind. It had been silent for days. Only now to make its comeback. 'Kill the weaklings, become one with true power.' Saki ignored the voice knowing all too well what that thing called true power. 'Just one little spell and the problem goes away, none can resist my power.' Once again Saki ignored the voice, its taunting, while the break was nice, was back and she was accustomed to its antics.
In the distance, she heard it before she saw it. Thousands of footsteps, the ground began to shake with the mass of movement towards them. Saki tensed, she would not run. Last time she ran...
----------------------------------------
The young fox ran through the forest as the smell overwhelmed her. The man had just been standing there, she didn't understand why he had become so violent. They had never been that violent before. And his skin, it looked weird. Gray and his eyes were missing. He had ran at her like crazy, she had to flee through a tree root to get ahead, but now he was onto her. She had to get to mamma, mamma would save her! She would never go to the north again after this. She would promise momma.
----------------------------------------
A crackling sound filled the air, like a mixture between lighting and water freezing. The sound pulled both girls from their memories as a figure appeared a few dozen feet in front of them. It was a tall gaunt figure wearing robes that covered its entire body. The creature looked easily over 7 feet tall and the moment it appeared, the temperature dropped even further. The ground around the thing began to freeze, slowly spreading outwards as it raised its robed arms.
Tama reacted instantly, one moment she was standing next to Saki, the next she was swinging her katana down on the strange figure. An almost translucent blue bubble appeared around the figure deflecting the katana and knocked Tama back forcefully. Tama righted herself as she flew back landing almost a dozen feet away. However, Saki saw it. Albeit small and closing. Tama had caused cracks in the shield.
Saki began to think up strategies, clearly the shield was the creature's main defense, if they brought it down, they could beat it right? Saki turned to Tama and yelled "Tama, listen to me, if you can distract it I can create a spell that will destroy the shield. Then you just have to finish it!"
Of course, this was a ruse. Hence why she had yelled it. Also as Saki had begun to learn, was an error in judgment.
"Why would you yell our plan?" Tama yelled back in a questioning tone. "Won't he know what we're doing now?"
Saki screamed internally but said nothing. A frosty, raspy voice filled the area. It amplified the cold and caused both girls to flinch. "Pathetic children, playing the hero. You will die just as the original did. Your lives even more meager than his."
Saki turned to Tama only to see she was gone again, she turned just in time to see Tama striking the creature again. This time, her sword pushed through for only a second, cutting the robe. Tama was once again pushed back but the damage was done. The robe fell away showing a skeletal creature, its eyes blue burning flames. It hovered a few inches off the ground and made an imposing figure. There, on its arm where Tama had struck, was a long cut.
Even as the shield was regenerating Saki heard Tama yell out "Nya! This meager cat girl damaged the big bad monster! Lich thing talks big game but he can be damaged just like everyone else!" Her voice was filled with rage and hatred towards the creature and Saki on a personal level all at once, felt a connection for the first time with the neko. A kinship formed in hatred.
If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.
TAMA
Tama sneered at the horrific creature of bones, her nose pinching in distaste. She could taste the rot on her tongue and the chill passed through even her water veil. This thing needed to die. But Tama paused for a moment as she realized something. The undead army behind the Lich wasn't moving. They stood there, a line that seems miles long, their numbers seemingly endless. Yet even after Tama had hurt their master, they had not moved. A chill ran down Tama's spine at the realization.
The Lich's eyes flared, the blue orbs of fire expanding as the chill radiating out from him doubled and the ground went from blue to black near him. Tama felt her body being frozen and began to move up and down quickly to build some kind of heat against the chill. It was no good and she began to shiver uncontrollably. Oddly, Saki while cold, didn't seem as affected as Tama.
"Play time is over children, I have enjoyed our little diversion, but it's time for you to die now." The Lich's voice was a wave of frost that made Tama's entire body freeze for an instant as it reached her.
Tama rushed forward again, but the ground became slippery and she was forced to slow. The ice reached up and grabbed her legs. Her water pushed to dissipate the ice but it regrew as her veil fought it to a standstill. Tama's rage was once again replaced with fear as she realized her predicament. The Lich raised one skeletal arm towards her and a ball of what appeared to be pure dark ice formed in front of it.
"Time to die little one," the Lich said, his voice causing the ice around Tama to start expanding even more, destroying her barrier as it did. Tama's vision began to darken as the ball finished forming on the Lich's hand.
"Hey, what do you think you're doing with my meal ticket!" The voice caught Tama by surprise, pulling her from her fear for a moment as she turned her head to see Saki. She was standing tall, her hands above her head. She looked... scared. But not of the Lich. Rather, it was what she held above her head that seemed to be the origin of her extreme discomfort. Tama could not think of any magic that could be more terrifying that it would scare someone who was about to die from a Lich!
The Lich, pausing as he turned to her, said "I sense... power." He sounded uncertain as he also appeared hesitant of what Saki was holding. For a moment there was silence.
Then Saki threw her hands down, lobbing the massive ball of dark energy at the Lich. The Lich instantly attempted to dodge but was a moment too slow. Tama watched in absolute shock as the dark energy ate through the Lich's barrier, his entire right arm, and cut a direct swathe through the army behind him. Erasing every single thing it touched until it hit the mountain, only stopping after going what appeared to be a few feet into it due to lack of momentum.
“Nya! That was amazing Saki!” Tama said as she turned to face her ally. She paused however when she saw Saki grabbing her had and screaming and she fell to her knees. Purple veins seemed to pulse under her skin and her eyes were tightly shut.
“Saki are you alright?!” Tama said, worry edging into her tone as she was finally able to break from the ice freezing her. Tama blinked and in an instant stood next the fox girl. “Tama is here, don’t worry, Tama will protect you!”
SAKI
Saki was in pain, so very much pain. It defined her existence. All she felt was pain. The cold was gone, the Lich a distant memory, his armies nonexistent. To Saki, all she knew was the pain. A never ending reel of torture and suffering.
Why had she done it? She knew the cost, she knew what would happen. But she had done it anyways, and what for? For that psychopath cat girl? This was all her fault!
“Tama will protect you!” A familiar voice droned out the pain, the sounds of torment. Resolute in its tone. Saki felt herself being picked up. She could do nothing, the voice in her head screamed at her. It wanted free, it wanted to erase… Everything. Saki felt herself fading, but as she felt herself being consumed, she felt a sharp pain on her cheek. It wasn’t like the internal pain, the eternal agony. This one was different, it came from outside. Saki opened her eyes, their endless purple voids staring into the face of none other then Tamaneko as she held her. “Tama is here, stay with Tama!”
Saki felt rage, anger, frustration. But above all, Saki felt relieved. It made no sense, The cat girl was bluffing, she was crazy. But something deep inside Saki told her to trust the cat girl. Just to hold on. So she did.
----------------------------------------
Saki rummaged through the items inside the small space quietly. She had heard there was something of great value here, something to help her fight the monster that had destroyed her home. Now in the guise of her fox girl form. Her twelve year old humanoid body dug through the items. Enchanted swords, high quality potions, weird skill books. All interesting, none of it what that man had promised. She cursed quietly under her breath. It had been difficult to get here, and now it might have all been a waste. She sighed heavily as she prepared to become a fox and flee. At the last moment However, something caught her eye. The book glowed a dark purple, its binding black as the darkest night. It.. called.. to her. Saki moved over to her as she looked at it curiously. The moment she touched the book a voice entered her head. It was soft, almost kind as it whispered to her. It promised her vengeance, her greatest desires realized. Saki wasn’t sure, it sounded to good and the book seemed to.. dark.. for her taste. Then it said something that caught her attention. I can bring them back it whispered. Saki stared at the glowing book. She knew she shouldn’t, it was clearly a trap. She.. She couldn’t. However, even as she thought that. Hope, even a small amount entered her. To see her momma again, it was too good to be true. So Saki grabbed hold of the book fully and took a deep shuddering breath she whispered to it “You promise?” “Yes” Saki’s hand shook as she opened the book, Everything went black.
----------------------------------------
“Saki wake up!” Saki suddenly awoke with a jolt, the memory of that horrible book fading to the back of her mind. The pain had receded and she could feel her sanity returning. She looked directly into the Sapphire blue eyes of Tama and memories of what happened came back to her. She sat bolt upright and looked around. They appeared to be in some sort of forest. It was dark out and everything had a luminescence to it. That meant her night vision had activated. “What happened?” She asked as she tried to get her bearings. Aside from a dull throbbing, the pain was entirely gone. “We are in Trekul forest, it was Tama’s home growing up. Tama is going back to sensei’s house. If anyone can beat that mean Lich its him!” Saki paused as Tama’s words sunk in before suddenly turning to her. “You have a sensei? And he lives in this forest?” She asked, a tiny hint of disbelief in her voice. There was no way. If it had been that simple all along. “Of course!” Tama said seriously “He is the greatest Ninja ever! He even was in a team with the chosen hero! The same hero who sealed the demon king away!” Saki stared at Tama in stunned silence as her words washed over her like a wave. Then, a thought crossed Saki’s mind. "Umm, Tama, what happened back there? The last thing I remember was... never mind. What happened after I passed out?" Tama shifted uncomfortably, coughing into her hand before mumbling something under her breath. Saki frowned. "What?" Tama coughed louder, ears twitching as she looked away. This time, Saki barely caught the words. "Tama took Saki and fled." Saki blinked. "...What?" Tama's face turned red as she kept her gaze averted, clearly embarrassed. For a moment, Saki just stared. Not because Tama had run—that was the only logical choice—but because she was embarrassed about it. The opponent they had faced wasn’t just stronger than them; they weren’t even on the same level. Anyone with half a brain would have run. Yet, here Tama was, acting like it was some kind of shameful failure. Was she serious?