The crowds of humans disgusted him. The press of their sweaty rank bodies. The way they chattered incessantly. His Lord had been very clear. He was not to make any more waves, not to alert any of the locals to his presence. This was not always easy. After so many years of being away from this world he found everything strange and discomforting. He wore an overcoat and cap which, in the summer heat, meant that he stood out like a sore thumb.

On the sidewalk which he walked down people parted around him, whispering in voices they thought he could not hear about his appearance. He heard them speculating that he was without a home, without a family, or without a dollar to his name. All of these, of course, were true but not for reasons that they thought.

The man walked faster and gritted his teeth. If he stayed in the public eye he was liable to fight one of these crude creatures and that was not advisable. He was headed for a little known shrine his Lord had identified for him. It was likely to be abandoned at this time of day, but if not, he smirked… he had no choice but to remove any humans before the ritual began.

And that would be such a shame wouldn’t it?

The large wooden gates before the shrine were painted red. The crowds passed it by as if it were nothing at all, a place to be ignored.

Foolish humans going about their day as if their lives had any meaning when an ancient power hummed right beside them. Could they not feel it? The energies that swirled and rose to the very heavens? No, of course they couldn’t. But they would. All of them. Soon enough. Once his final mission was complete. But there was much work to be done before this, and this was just one step of many.

The man reached into the sleeves of his robes and withdrew a small metal orb. He held it out in his palm, and it began to spin slowly of its own accord. A child yelled out, gleefully and beelined towards him thinking he was putting on a magic show. He hissed and the child cried out, his mother pulling him away. The man looked down at the orb, tiny little red characters were written across its diameter, glowing. He smiled.

Good, it is confirmed then.

It is here.

He walked through the gates and into the shrine, prepared to kill anyone he found.

***

“That, that’s what she picked?” I looked between the two girls. Hana was on one side of the checkout counter, ready to ring Kira, who was on the other side, for her purchase. I was, of course, going to pay. Catgirl spirits didn’t have a lot of money. Any money actually. Kira just smiled at my gaze.

“Meow, master doesn’t like it?” She asked playfully. I raised an eyebrow. Though Hana had gifted her language abilities, she still spoke a stilted.. cat-like version of human speech. I would be lying if I said I didn’t find it kind of adorable. But that's besides the point. I was trying to figure out how to properly respond to the question. It wasn’t that I didn’t like what she had chosen. I liked it. A lot. And I was afraid strangers might too.

What Kira had chosen to wear put Fenra’s choice of a floral swimsuit to utter shame. It was scandalous.

“Where did she even find this?” I turned to Hana and asked. The pink haired girl laughed.

“Listen Ryo, I tried to talk her out of it but she loved it. She found it in the section we brought in for Halloween costumes. It’s cheaper for that reason, at least.”

I shook my head. “I guess i’ll pay, then.” I pulled out my card. After the last year of taking care of the temple I had more than a few cashed cheques in the bank now and was doing okay. Well enough to pay for my new phone, a few things around the house, and to feel comfortable.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

I gave Hana the card and turned to Kira, appraising her while Hana rang me up. Her alabaster skin was covered in an extremely provocative outfit. It was a “maid” outfit, but a deeply impractical one. It was faux-leather and had a halter top / bra and frilly half sleeves as well as a short black and white skirt, atop her head was a small maid cap which she was currently adjusting and giggling.

At least that might help cover up the ears.

She was, in some ways, like a little kid. Innocent.

Not in your dreams. She is anything but innocent in your mind, remember?

Naughty thoughts began to appear in my head and I bit the tip of my tongue, trying to use pain to clear them away. I found myself staring at her ample cleavage and tore my gaze away.. Hana handed me back my card and was smirking, having noticed my gaze.

“Be careful there big boy, a new spirit in the temple. Miku is right. Fenra may come back and be jealous. Remember how she was around me and Miku for the first time?”

I nodded, I sure did. Although somehow we had worked that out. This, I felt… could be trickier. Kira being a spirit at all

“Ooh Fenra! You mean my sister?!”

I stared at Hana in disbelief, her mouth was open in shock just as mine was. We both turned back to Kira, who, after having dropped that little bombshell, was ignoring us both. Instead Kira was playing with the bow at the center of her halter top, trying to untie it. I selfishly wished she would succeed but she was having quite a hard time with it.

“Kira, what do you mean your sister?” Hana asked, unable to keep the shock out of her voice.

Kira did a strange wiggling motion and giggled as her skirt swished back and forth, showing off her firm white legs. I gulped. Eyes up here Ryo, eyes up here. I focused on Kira’s forehead, trying to ignore the show she was unintentionally putting on. What had she said? Her sister?

I took a step forward and put a gentle hand on her bare shoulder, Kira looked up at me and cocked her head to one side. She had ignored the question fully it seemed, focused on the new outfit.

“What did you mean when you just said that, Kira. That Fenra is your sister?” I repeated the question slowly. I wanted to be careful and simple in the way that I asked it. I knew there were things that might not translate across the boundaries of our worlds and this was very, very important. Not the least of the reasons was that I had just spent the night with her in the cabin.

If Fenra was going to be mad about a stranger in my bed, she’d be doubly mad about it being her sister. Shit.

I saw Kira squint and scrunch her face as she tried to search for the words, or perhaps the memory. “Hmm, Fenra is my… brood. Together we were formed and assigned. It is… hard to explain. The closest word is “sister” for we come from the same mother, but I have not seen her since our training.”

“B-but, forgive me, Are you sure this is the same Fenra?” Hana blurted out. It was a good point, I wasn’t sure about naming conventions in the spirit world but a name wasn’t a hell of a lot to go on. Kira thought it over for a moment, her white tail wagging back and forth.

“Well.. my sister. How can I describe her? Dark skin, bushy tail, not like my thin one, brown eyes. But the thing about her most… is she gets angry easily and gets happy easily. Does that make sense? I don’t know the world. Maybe…”

“Wild?” I offered.

Kira grinned and nodded. “Momma said I was the relaxed one, Fenra was always running off… chasing prey. I liked to play instead.” Kira winked at me. I hoped Hana didn’t see that. I had a sneaking suspicion the kind of play she was referring to wasn’t the one we were seeing in the living room with the ball.

Or maybe it was. Get your mind out of the damn gutter Ryo!

A bell rang behind us, interrupting our conversation. Customers. Hana greeted them with a customary welcome. It was an older couple and they gave Kira a wide eyed look before heading into the food aisle. Hana pulled me in close. “We will finish this discussion later, I’ll come by tonight for dinner. In the meantime, keep Kira out of sight. Kitayashi is busier than it used to be. Rumors might spread. And also… she isn’t quite used to it here…”

I turned to see Kira twirling a rack of candy faster and faster, the treats dangling precariously as she giggled. I grabbed her arms gently and guided her away, she gave me a pouty look.

“Let’s get you home, alright? We have candy there too!”

We didn’t. But I’d improvise. Like always.