It wasn’t the goodbye I had expected from Miku, but it had been a lovely one. A moment shared. Passionate. Tender. Frenzied. Everything anyone could want. And more.

I felt sheepish. I felt like a little kid. Giddy. But also warm inside. Miku and I had shared such moments together before. This kind of intimacy was new. It made me feel close to her. It made me feel like she forgave me… for what had happened in the cave. The cave where we had fought the summoner together and nearly lost. The cave where she had lost her powers. I realized as I walked home through temple grounds alone that I had a new mission.

I wasn’t just going to find Fenra. I was going to find the summoner, and I was going to find a way to get her powers back. It didn’t matter that Miku had warned me not to fight him alone. I would do it, to get her powers back. And to save my guardian spirit. I would do it even if it took using the very dark magic of the enemy himself.

I walked through the temple gates and took stock of each and every item that we had built together as a trio as I did so. The new gate with its latch, the temple roof, the garden, the stone pagodas, the walkway. The pond, still a work in progress. We had been planning a trip to get koi and get it filled. Fenra had been particularly excited about that. She had waved aside my concerns that she might consider them prey, she was a fox not a cat, she had said to me.

A cat, huh. Like our new guest. A coincidence? Surely.

I paused at the doorway thinking of Kira. Hana had accepted her, and even Miku begrudgingly accepted her by now. But I personally worried about her. What could we do with her now? We couldn’t leave her alone in the temple while we journeyed to Okaino. And taking her with us was also out of the question. It would be too dangerous. Not only did Kira stick out like a sore thumb but I doubted she was ready for the battles we might face. She seemed innocent, pure. I could not forgive myself if I let something happen to someone else.

An idea came to me suddenly and I realized that it was what I should have done all along. Yes, it solved everything! Hana would have to stay with Kira. Between her, Miku and my Brother they could take care of eachother and the Temple. Keep eachother safe. After all, this was my mess in the first place. I should go alone.

But how to break it to the girls? Maybe… maybe I didn’t have to.

A plan began to formulate in my head . I would have to be careful, but it just might work. I entered the doorway.

“You two decent in there?”

A pair of voices giggled.

“Yes!”

Meow!

“Ok, I’m coming in.”

***

“Master!” The cat spirit called out, dropping the towel wrapped around her waist and taking a step towards me.

My jaw dropped, my mouth hanging open. Her voluptuous breasts were on full display, the silver haired cat spirit had her arms open wide and her eyes beaming, ready to greet me.

“Oh no you don’t!” Hana yelled out, one step behind. She caught the towel as it dropped, giving the busty Kira only a second of exposure before being covered up again and drawn back into the feisty pinked haired woman’s arms.

Damn. I could have used another second.

“I think we have different definitions of the word ‘decent’,” I teased Hana.

The pink haired girl rolled her eyes. “She’s a handful, this one Ryo. She made such a mess of her new outfit I had to strip her down completely. It’s drying in your closet. We will need to pack a change of clothes for this trip.” She paused, looking at the cat girl who was now grinning happily, her big yellow eyes looking between us. She licked the tip of her nose.

Wow. I guess giving her language didn’t really remove her… um… quirks.

“New clothes?” Kira asked Hana hopefully. “This time I want more… what do you call it…. Shiny!!!”

I shook my head and Hana and I both burst into laughter. “Ok Ryo, I will get Kira dried up and into some of your spare clothes, you should think about packing. Still got your suitcase from Tokyo?”

I did in-fact have it. It was gathering dust in the closet beneath Kira’s dripping wet maid outfit. I pulled it out and dragged it over to my bed. I hefted it and was surprised at how light it was. I guess that made sense, the last time I’d touched it it had been full and now it was empty. I laid it out onto my bed and opened it. A flood of nostalgia filled me. I had not left Kitayashi since I had come a year ago. The time had flown by. And to think I had been so reluctant to come! I had taken very few things, a t-shirt, a pair of pants, a couple of pairs of socks and boxers. I had taken a few manga volumes that I had loaned out to Hana after reading them far too many times. That was about it. W

hile the girls giggled and apparently struggled (I saw movement out of the corner of my eyes, but did not look, afraid I would once again catch a glimpse of a half naked kitty… and that might get me in big trouble) I began to pack. I rifled through the belongings I had acquired in my time in Kitayashi. There was more than I had expected. All thanks to Hana’s store. At first, when I’d been broke, I’d gotten most items on credit. Now that I was taking care of Grandpa’s temple and my monthly stipend came in, I had enough to buy my own clothes and various odds and sods.

Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.

I packed the following:

1 Yellow rubber rain jacket

1 Jitanshi Hoodie (An anime Hana and I were both fans of)

3 Black t-shirts

2 pairs of shorts

1 pair of sandals

1 pair of running shoes

1 dusty tome (Grandpa’s book on being a guardian)

The suitcase was still light and half empty as I hefted it and turned to see Hana and Kira observing me. Kira was wearing Hana’s t-shirt and a blanket expertly tied around her waist as a skirt. The thin black material of the shirt was stretched to it’s limits of the much bustier yet shorter Kira’s chest and it was clear that she was not totally dry, for I could see her nipples poking outwards in the material. I gulped.

Shit! Don't… stare!

I turned to Hana but I was still in danger there. A similarly sexy sight awaited me. Hana was just wearing her black leather jacket over a white bra.I guess that made sense as she’d given up her shirt. I couldn’t help but follow the lines of her neck, her cleavage on full display. I guessed the jacket had no buttons. How impractical…

No! Don’t fucking stare. Don’t do it.

Hana was smirking at me. I knew that look. She knows exactly what’s going on and how its affecting me. She always does.

“Ok here is what’s gonna happen big boy, I’m staying overnight at the cabin. While I’m here I’m going to be keeping an eye on this one… and on you. No funny business on my watch. Don’t get excited.”

“Hana, don’t you have the store to take care of in the morning?” I replied.

She chuckled.

“I’ve already called in someone to cover for me. You haven’t been paying attention, have you Ryo? I actually have employees now.”

I nodded.

“And besides, I’m not sure if you realized this but it's late. Very late. And I’m not a fan of driving on these roads at night. I’m not sure what took you so long out there with Miku, but we were waiting quite a while.”

There was another awkward pause. I didn’t offer an explanation

KIra looked between the two of us, her tail wagging then grabbed onto Hana’s arm excited. “Big sis sleeps with me and master tonight?”

Another awkward silence saved by Kira!

Hana smiled. “Yes. But we will sleep together on the bed, little one. And master? Well master sleeps on the floor.”

Of course. Of course he does. I wasn’t going to complain. Hana had caught me red handed staring and let me off with a warning I’d take it.

“We will find you some new clothes and get you packed tomorrow before the store opens. I will make sure to check in,” Hana said to Kira.

I let the comment slide, neither agreeing or disagreeing. The truth was I had my own plan, and it didn’t include waiting around. I watched the two of them get into bed together. They made quite a pair. Kira was playing with the various laces and buckles on Hana’s bra and jacket excitedly while Hana explained to her what each one was for.

I looked away. It was too dangerous for me again. Too much like the beginning of some kind of erotic video I certainly didn’t want to be thinking of at the moment.

Instead of watching them I reached under the bed for my grandfather's book but realized I had already packed it. So instead of reading I remembered a passage Id’ read many times. It was not a story and it was not an instruction. It was a long string of words. A chant really. Only none of the words made any sense. I’d asked Hana and Fenra and even Miku what they thought of it, but none of them could make heads nor tails of it either.

I repeated the words over and over in my head. For some reason, despite being in a language I could not understand they had stuck. Again again they repeated

An’eth. Un’kara. Dian’ek kr’ia’thi.

Tria’ei’man.

An’eth. Un’kara. Dian’ek kr’ia’thi.

Sul’ei’man

An’eth. Un’kara. Dian’ek kr’ia’thi.

Uul’ei’man.

I ran through the words until my eyelids drooped, until even the hard wood of the floor became comfortable. I drifted off to sleep.

***

He laid the items out in front of him in the sand.

Here in the between no one could touch him, it was a place few humans, demons, or spirits could frequent… and even those that could would not necessarily be able to attune to his specific frequency and find him here. Only his lord might find him in this spot, but even then.

In front of him were the artifacts he had stolen thus far. Three, only three. He was moving slowly. Far too slow. He was not yet at the number he needed. And only that number would be sufficient for such a powerful ritual as they had planned. But still, it was quite a start… and after each one he felt himself growing in strength, and with each bloodshed too, as much as his masters cautioned him to lay low.

To stay quiet.

Being back here, on earth, and able to feed… it was incredible. So many years he had spent in the beyond languishing in a place of darkness. Some called it peace. He called it torture. He had been sent there before his time. Before he had been able to accomplish all that he wanted and needed to do on earth. And it was the fault of that damned brat and his progeny. But that would all soon change.

He picked them up one by one. The necklace was first, and it gleamed in the purple sun above. The next was a puzzle box from a monastery, that had been a fun one. They had fought hard, a lot of them, but they had been mere mortals. No power at all. Then the last one, the warrior, the guardian he had slain in the shrine. The gem, he turned it over in his fingers. It glittered in the light casting a thousand reflections.

He put all three down. Together they empowered him, he breathed in and out. He had work to do. He meditated, calling to mind the image of the one whom he wished to speak. A small female form appeared before him.

“Well, what have you learned so far?”