Chapter Sixteen
A Night Out
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As the night of Asturdorm grew more profound, so did the drinks. Jenieva had asked one of her employees to close the establishment. She was highly adamant about joining Enoxon and me for drinks. Apparently, we were just here having the night of our lives. Everything was going great! There were jokes, laughter, and fun—a little bit of both.
Besides Kurai. He just stayed to himself in the corner.
But it didn’t matter whether he was there because we joined him at his booth anyway. He was definitely annoyed with us, but he’ll be ok. It was nice to be myself with everyone here and not have to worry about some demon coming after me. At least, hopefully not. Enoxon was drunk off his ass, leaning on Kurai, who was clearly annoyed, before he pushed him off of his shoulder, grunting.
“See, what did I say? Drunk ass,” Kurai would growl. “Get off ME,” He snapped as he shoved Enoxon once more off him.
This caused Enoxon to fall nearly off the booth, but instead, Jenieva caught him. I wasn’t drunk, but I was definitely feeling something because the room was halfway spinning. I leaned against the wall, closing my eyes slightly. “I had two drinks; these underworld drinks are something else,” I muttered into the wall.
“Two? Sweetheart, you had three shots.” Jenieva called me out.
“Oh? I did? Ugh, that is awful; why?” I groaned.
“You and Enoxon will be in terrible shape tomorrow,” Jenieva teased me. “We’ll definitely have to do this another night,” She cheered.
I randomly asked, “How do we know it’s night if the moons are always out here?”
“Demon sense, the best way to put it,” Jenieva replied, holding Enoxon on her. I’ve got Enoxon since he’s… Well, as you can tell, incapable of magic tonight. Just another casual night with Jenieva.” Her red eyes immediately turned to Kurai, narrowed, and brows furrowed. If you put as much as a finger on this sweet little Virgin, I will eat you alive,” she growled, getting into his personal bubble.
Kurai immediately matched her energy and snapped back, “Comes from the girl who's been flirting with her all night.”
I couldn’t help but chuckle, reaching over the table and patting Kurai between his ears, which were flat on his head. “Kurai is a good boy; he won’t do anything,” I shared with her, smiling.
“Mmm,” Jenieva looked him up and down, “Watch yourself,” She snarled quietly before doing a 180 personality-wise as she turned to face me, “Stay safe, Little Snow!” Then, within the next second, the demon succubus picked up Enoxon and literally threw him over her shoulder, patting his back as he did so. “Honestly, it was nice meeting you, Snow. And don’t worry about being seen as a demon anymore, I conjured up a little something in your drinks.”
“You spiked my drink?” I questioned sadly.
“No, nothing that would’ve messed with you mentally. It just masks you for a while,” she assured me. “As the owner of The Wet Rose, I’d lose all morals if I spiked a human's drink for my own good.” The red-haired demon smiled before waving at us. “Ta-ta!” She then carried Enoxon out of the bar over her shoulder, leaving Kurai and me with other bartenders to close.
“I had way too much fun!” I squealed happily, leaning against the wall once more. “I think I had way more to drink tonight, though.”
“You really did,” Kurai grunted. “And now I’m stuck babysitting you.”
“Didn’t you tell me you’d rather be the one to babysit, not Enoxon?” I teased him as I climbed out of the booth.
“If I knew you couldn’t handle your alcohol as badly as Enoxon, I’d rather you just not drink.”
Outside, I immediately embraced the cold breeze, feeling the warmth from my body almost wholly escape. My gaze scanned the area, everything a little blurry. I felt loose and happy. I never got to do this in the human world, but these three made it feel unique. This is what it was like to hang out with friends and just drink and have fun. The human world was all about work to pay the bills. Perhaps I was a bit spoiled now, but I felt amazing.
“Thanks for coming out with us, Kurai! Even if you did hide in the corner like a fox,” I murmured. “I had fun, though,” I said as I balanced on an invisible beam with my arms to the side. “Jenieva’s really nice! She’s sweet and fun! I love knowing other people are happy.”
“That’s not something a demon would say,” Kurai scoffed.
I gasped, freezing and turning to him. With a closed fist, I smacked an open palm and stated, “You’re right! Let me be better.” Clearing my throat, I stood tall and lowered my voice .”I, big scary demon omnomnomnom. Hear me roar!” I began to stomp around and scratch at the air. That’s when I nearly lost my balance.
Kurai reached out and caught me by the side, pulling me up and closer to him—more than I expected. As he had done so, I noticed a very sly smile on his lips. He tried hiding it, but I saw a genuine and unique smile.
“I win,” I teased, bopping him on the nose and turning away from him to catch my own balance.
Kurai chuckled, shaking his head. “You’re impossible, you know that?”
I grinned, and I could slightly feel his contentment with our situation. Knowing that this cold man was genuinely feeling content made me happy. It was a hard shell to break, but I was grateful to be the one who broke it. “Yeah, but you enjoy my company,” I teased him.
He sighed, but his eyes were warm. “Something like that,” he replied. Just be more careful, okay? I don’t like playing rescue or babysitting all the time. It goes against my moral codes of a nogitsune.”
“Fine, deal. But onlyyyyyyy,” I paused, looking at him with bright eyes, “If you promise to have fun with us - instead of hiding in the corner.”
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Another chuckle escaped him, “We’ll see.”
His emotions whirled and mixed with mine as I felt his happiness transfer. I’m still not sure how it did it, but it did.
“Mmm, your eyes are doing that weird glowy thing again,” He stated.
“You know,” I stated. “I think it has to do with me sensing your emotion?”
He froze and looked at me, confused. “What?”
I nodded, looking as he bounced back and forth in my vision, “Yeup! For whatever reason, I know how you’re feeling. Mostly when you’re angry, it kind of…. Like, just enters me? I don’t know how to explain it,” I said as I took place on my imaginary beam again. “Like, when you were jealous of Jenieva and Enoxon’s jacket, I knew you were jealous. It made me jealous. I had nothing to be jealous of!”
His cheeks turned pink, “I do not get jealous,” He stated.
“Oh, but when you’re angry, I know!! Besides the yelling you do, I feel your anger, and I become angry!” I growled, putting my hands up like a demon-cat again. “Can we go home, please? This is taking too long!”
He sped up to catch up to me, watching as I walked. “What do you mean my emotions blur into yours?”
“I don’t know Kurai, but I don’t feel good. Can you magic us home, please?”
“Magic us home?” He mocked me gently, shaking his head. “Um, no, I can’t do that in the middle of town where magic isn’t quite allowed.”
I lost my balance again, but I completely tumbled into Kurai this time and knocked him over into the snow and dirt. His white kimono was now covered in it. “Kurai, I need to go home,” I whined, lying in the snow pile next to him, turning my gaze to him. When I realized his white kimono was no longer white, my entire body tensed up, and I could feel the fear rise in my own body. “Oh my, I am so, so, so sorry. Please don’t be mad—I didn’t mean to. I’m sorry, Kurai.”
He sighed, lying in the snow as he stared at the sky above me, his amber eyes reflecting a mixture of emotions.
“Kurai, I’m sorry! I promise when we get home, I’ll wash, scrub, bleach, and all kinds of things to your kimono!” I begged him, the drunken side of me not wanting to get yelled at. I even rolled to my knees and looked as though I was begging him, my drunken mind desperate.
He didn’t move or say a word; he just lay there.
All the blood rushed to my face as I continued to apologize. I felt so horrible. I couldn’t even sit upright; I was teetering and tottering to the sides, catching myself as I did so. My body felt the desperate plea, knowing I didn’t want to get yelled at. I would do anything at this point.
Kurai finally looked at me, his expression softening. “Hey, it’s okay. Don’t worry about the kimono,” he said, his voice gentle. “I’m not mad. I just want to get you home safely.”
I lifted my head from my position and watched him as he lifted his gaze to the darkened sky. I then watched as he lifted an arm and patted my head. My entire body tensed up, stunned by his reaction. His gentle touch was warm, bringing forth a bit of light as I instantly just froze. I was surprised. Tears swelled up more as he told me he wasn’t angry, and his touch was so gentle. My drunken mind felt extremely overwhelmed, and then I began to overthink.
He’s just trying to make you feel better. He’s angry with you, don’t believe a word he says. He thinks you’re a drunk slob.
But no.
The fox-demon just smiled at me and pointed to the moon, “You asked about the moon earlier? Did you know the moon here was the same as the one you see from the Human Realm?” He said, gently pulling his hand away from my white hair.
“What?” I murmured, utterly unaware of how to respond. Tears continued to fall on the snow beside me, though a smile grew on my face at his reaction.
“Yeah, so wherever you are, you’ll always see the moon as you did back home,” He stated, his eyes not peeling away from the white moon that shone above. “I’m not sure how they did it, but they did. Maybe Enoxon would know.” He chuckled softly.
I felt his calmness within me, and I was beginning to calm myself now. My happy smile just stayed glued to my face now.
“You know something else? Your hair is almost a silver-purple color under the moonlight,” he murmured as he stood up, holding his hand out to help me. Also, I do not think you’re a drunken mess, so don’t think that about yourself, okay? Let’s go home.”
I shook my head. “You said we can’t do that here,” I whispered.
“It’ll be ok - there are no witnesses.”
Hesitantly, I took his hand and was pulled up onto my feet. He closed his eyes, and a small magical portal appeared before us. Holding my wrists, Kurai began to step through.
Just as I was about to follow, something came barreling towards us. A hard impact knocked us off our feet, and Kurai instinctively pulled me closer, ensuring we wouldn’t be separated. My body was already trembling with anxiety from the alcohol, and now I found myself practically hugging this man.
I’m not sure how it happened, but Kurai and I ended up in the room at the house where I was staying. As we landed roughly on the floor, nearly colliding with the reading nook by the window, Kurai held me close. He shielded my head and part of my body with his hand and his own head, protecting me from the worst of the fall.
We skidded across the room, and Kurai quickly checked on me before turning towards our attacker, his hand igniting with a blaze of fiery magic. For a moment, I lay there, my head pressed against his thick white and black kimono. I could hear his heartbeat thumping hard, nervously.
Despite the chaos, being in his protective embrace brought a strange sense of comfort.
Amber eyes scanned the room, wondering what could have possibly knocked us through the portal. I closed my eyes against his chest; not only was I drunk and unable to see straight, but all I could hear was his heartbeat. When I felt his body relax a bit, I gently lifted my head, coming into a blurry focus, but I could listen to his heavy breathing. I immediately recognized them as I did my best to concentrate on the frantic figure.
It was Yushin, the Spirit Walker.
“Snow! You have to help me!” he begged, his voice urgent as he came into view. He ran over and quickly propped me up on my feet as if I weighed nothing and as if I wasn’t being held by Kurai. I’m desperate. You need to help me. You are literally the only one who can!” His voice cracked with fear, his heart beating extremely fast as he tried to catch his breath.
I tried to fix my gaze but saw two of Yushin, the Spirit Walker. I rubbed my head and tried to steady myself but wasn’t doing well.
“Please, Snow. I need your assistance,” he pleaded, touching my shoulders. You’re the only one who can help.” His voice was urgent, and he frowned as he looked me up and down.
“Hey! Get your hands off her!” Kurai snapped, pulling me away from the Spirit Walker and stepping before me. The heat emanating from Kurai was intense, making it almost unbearable to stand next to him. “How dare you use my portal and ask her for help?!” Anger rippled through him, his fury palpable.
“Who are you?” Yushin asked, scrutinizing Kurai silently. He looked him up and down, tapping his chin thoughtfully. Suddenly, he gasped, “Oh, I know who you are. You’re Kurai, the Banished Nogitsune, Brother to Lord Mundus.”
Banished Nogitsune? I echoed in my mind, glancing between Yushin and Kurai. I tilted my head slightly and frowned as Kurai’s fiery power grew more intense, flames dancing around his fingers as if he were ready to strike.
I could feel Kurai's body tensing, and I felt even more anger at Yushin’s words.
“Strong but stupid,” Yushin sighed, turning his back to Kurai and facing me again. “Anyway, I am not here for you today, Nogitsune. Please, would you mind?” He turned his attention back to me and asked gently, “Snow, will you please help me?”
I was so stunned that everything I was hearing blurred into a haze. I tried to search for anything that would show how serious he was. It had to be vital if he was severe enough to push Kurai and me through the portal. What could have possibly gone wrong if he had needed my help? Or was he coming back to ask about Yuna?
Remembering that weird memory that corrupted him, turning him into a blob, I couldn't help but worry about him and his powers. I was still confused about what Spirit Walkers did—something about guiding souls—but from what I could recall, no one had seen them in a long time. And then I showed up and saw two. Now, Yushin was appearing in front of Kurai and me. But… where had they been? Why hadn't they been around? Why had no one seen them?
My lips turned downward, frowning, and I felt slightly saddened by the Spirit Walker’s plight. "I'm a bit… drunk. Can we talk about this tomorrow?"
“Ugh, you’ve corrupted her,” Yushin groaned.
I placed a hand on Kurai's flaming hand and smiled at the Spirit Walker. “Come tomorrow, and we can talk,” I offered.