Old Promises, New Mysteries: Book 2 of The Kinstone series

I awoke the next morning to the sounds of a growling dog and a hissing cat, both from just outside my window. I groaned as I stubbornly rolled over onto my stomach. I really wanted to just go back to sleep but couldn’t with all that racket.

I pushed myself upwards and crawled over to the window and opened it. The noises were coming from below. I looked down to see Fenris growling at a young catgirl, who stood at a ready stance, fangs bared and claws spread out.

“What’s going on?” rubbing my eyes.

The catgirl looked up at me, “Aria-sama?”

Sama? That honorific was only used for showing high respect for someone. And I had never once been called that.

My gaze turned to the girl, “Do I know you?”

A broad grin rose on her face, “It’s me, Saya.”

It took me a moment to process the name, but then my eyes shot open as I finally remembered who she was. Saya was the nekomata who lured me to the maid café in Akihabara, where I was then basically kidnapped.

I stared at the girl. She now sported slightly longer hair but I still recognized the girl.

“Give me one sec and I’ll be down.” The girl smiled, giving me a nod.

I quickly opened my door and rushed down the stairs. Upon unlocking the outer glass doors outside of the living, I slid them open as well. The morning air was cool and moist. The sun had only slightly risen in the sky, giving the area a very light hue.

When my feet stepped onto the grass, the fresh morning dew soaked my feet. Fenris still stood vigil, having calmed his growl. I smiled, stroking the massive wolf’s fur before walking towards the girl.

“It’s been so long Saya. You’re looking great.”

The girl blushed, bowing her head to me, “You honor me Aria-sama.”

I rolled my eyes, “Just call me Aria. No –san or –sama. Okay?”

She blushed, raising her head, “Yes Aria-sa… Aria.”

I grinned to her, my combined tails swishing behind me. “So I’m guessing you got a little too excited about seeing me huh?”

She smiled, “I did. My mistress couldn’t stop talking about how you were coming back, and that you were going to be living so close. I guess I couldn’t hold myself back much longer.”

I giggled, “Guess not.”

She then looked at me, “I can’t believe how beautiful you look as a kitsune. If I didn’t know any better, I would say that you were one from birth.”

I giggled again, cheeks blushing, “Yeah, I’ve been told that before. Not saying I’m knocking the compliment.”

Fenris then stepped beside me, “There are more hiding in the forest.”

My ears flicked to the sounds of tree branches shuffling. Slithering out from the forest were a group of shirohebi, six in all. Each woman sported a different hairstyle ranging from waist long to shoulder length.

Surprisingly, they were all were normal clothes and not the kimono tops I first saw them in. Beside them were an additional six or so nekomata.

I giggled to them, wagging my combined tail, “Hey guys.”

The group all smiled brightly to me. “Good morning Aria-sama. We can’t believe you’ve returned to us,” greeted one of the shirohebi.

Again with the “–sama” honorific. I smiled to her, “It’s just Aria. Please.”

The woman blinked, and then bowed her head, “Please forgive my lack of consideration.”

I threw up my hands, “There’s no need to apologize, really. So please raise your head.”

She did so, still looking nervous. The shirohebi still looked to be in their mid to late twenties while the nekomata appeared to be my age. Odd observation, granted that I hadn’t yet to meet any old nekomata.

I smiled to each of the group assembled, “It really awesome to see everyone again. But I have to ask, it is ok that you snuck away from Asha and did not tell her or worse, are the first to arrive before your mistress?” Now grinning mischievously, “I think y’all are about get into so much trouble.”

The group slunk back, looking worried and eyeing each other.

I let out a laugh, “Oh come on guys I’m teasing all of you. I’m sure y’all are going to be fine.”

The group then looked to me, some relieved while others were still slightly nervous. I giggled, shaking my head and walked over to them, tail still wagging.

One of the older shirohebi, Natsuki, smiled to me, “It’s so strange to believe that you are also human. You look and feel far too much as a yokai, Little Miss.”

My tails wrapped around me, “Really?”

She nodded to me, “You truly are a yokai. Any person from the village below would attest to the same.”

I blushed, smiling to her, “Thank you. I’ve been told that before and it’s still a little to take in.”

She nodded, “We were also told that you sported eight tails, but we only see one.” I giggled, unfurling all of them, letting them drape around me.

The group all looked on in awe at me, watching as my tails all swirled and swayed. “She’s so young to have that many. It’s incredible.” Spoke one of the other shirohebi.

“I know. The Mistress did say she couldn’t believe it when she saw it,” said another. I giggled to them.

I felt something brush beside me, looking down to see my bonded standing next to me. The group stared at him, looking apprehensive. I giggled, “This is Fenris. I think I mentioned him in one of my letters.”

They looked to me and then back to him. The massive wolf then sat beside me. A giggle rose from me once more, “He’s a little protective of me. Hence the harsh welcome.”

The group glanced at each other, whispering amongst themselves, and then turned back to me, all smiling. “We apologize for coming unannounced. You were correct in stating we were anxious in coming to see you.” I smiled, leaning into the wolf, staring at them.

This was the same group of yokai that surrounded me when Asha had me kidnapped. We stayed in contact through the message stone when Asha would send a letter to me, with them packing in their own letters with hers. So I came to know each other her attendants over the past year and a half, which was made easier when they sent me pictures of themselves for me.

“It’s exciting to have you here,” spoke Natsuki.

I grinned, “I know, I instantly fell in love with the whole region. Definitely gonna love being here for the next couple of months.”

The girls all then puffed up as bright grins rose on their faces. “There’s really not much to do around here, not like it is in the city,” replied Saya.

I grinned to her, “Not why I’m here. I’m here to live and learn as a yokai. So hopefully I get to better connect to everyone here. So I’m looking forward to learning from each of you.” I bowed to them, which cause the group to lean back in shock.

“P-please raise your head Little Miss. It’s not fitting for one such as you to humble yourself for our sake.”

Standing up straight, I grinned to them, “Well…it’s just who I am.” They all smiled to me, nodding softly.

“I was curious to what was causing all of the commotion out here.”

I spun around to see Yukari standing on the porch, smiling and tails swaying around her.

“Please forgive our intrusion, Tsukino-sama. We didn’t mean to disturb you,” bowed Natsuki.

Yukari smiled to them, “It’s quite all right girls. I knew you would want to see her. But it is rather early and I believe you should return to your mistress before she comes to find you all gone.”

They nodded, turning to me. “We will see you soon Little Miss. Stop by anytime you wish,” said Natsuki, her blood-red eyes shimmering in the morning light.

I grinned, “I’ll be over a few times to train with Asha. And then there’s the village.”

She nodded, turning to the group, “We should hurry.” The girls all nodded and waved, saying their goodbyes to me before heading down the path into the forest.

Saya stood beside me, “I actually live in the village when not attending to the Mistress. So hopefully we can see each other there.”

I smiled to her, “That be awesome. See you later.” She turned and gave a short bow before joining the rest of her group.

I spun and bowed to my guardian, “Ohayo gozaimasu, Yukari-san.”

She grinned, “Ohayo gozaimasu, Aria-chan. I hope you slept well.”

I nodded to her, hopping back onto the porch. “I did, expect for the strange alarm clock.”

She looked to Fenris, who sat stoically on the grass, tails swishing in the dew-laden grass. She then smiled softly, turning back to me, “Well, if you had to begin your first full day here, might as well do it with a surprise.”

I giggled, wagging my tails, “I think you’re right.”

The kitsune smiled broadly to me, “Well, since you are up, why don’t you get cleaned up? I would like to begin your training today.”

My ears perked up as a rather stupid grin rose on my face, “On it.” I quickly darted inside and flew up the stairs.

Yukari shook her head as Fenris stepped onto the porch, “That child is quite eager, isn’t she?”

The wolf nodded, “She has been waiting for this trip for a long time. I would not blame her for it.”

She smiled softly, “Nor I,” looking to the clock sitting on the dresser, “well…why I don’t prepare myself for the day?” Fenris stretched out his body, claw spread outwards, softly raking against the planks. Both then headed inside.

Upon entering my room, I threw off my pajamas, letting them float neatly onto a hanger, and then into the closet. I then spun into the bathroom and grabbed a shower. While in there, I heard a knock on the door, “Aria-chan?”

“Yes?”

“Just letting you know to wear something meant for athletic use.”

I nodded, “Yes Ma’am.”

“Good. Once you’re done, I’d like for you to also help me with breakfast.”

I grinned, “Yes Ma’am.” Silence then settles and I return to getting ready. Another big first, for me at least, learning how to cook a Japanese breakfast. This was going to be a really awesome first day.

After my shower, I dried myself off. Fun tip about drying furry tails, towels are good, but they aren’t really able to get all of the water. So I conjured a small fire spell, one I used a lot to dry myself, and spun it around each tail, drying them off.

The spell wasn’t large enough that I had to worry about setting anything on fire. Think of it as a glorified hairdryer that floats around like a ring. This was one of a few spells that I personally created. More hot air than actual fire.

I hurried out of the bathroom and back into my room. I threw on a tee shirt and short leggings. It was going to be a humid but cool day, so better be prepared for it.

I pulled out some tennis shoes and then tied my hair back into a low ponytail, wrapping the tie down about halfway down. I didn’t want to let it just go flopping about and getting in the way. I then scurried out of my room, closing the door behind me with a tail and hopped back down the stairs.

Yukari was already in the kitchen, shuffling around, again with the sound of the rice cooking. Fenris was lying in the living room, head down on the floor.

I smiled to him and then looked to Yukari, “So how can I help?”

She smiled, glancing at me, “I assume you know how to make tamagoyaki?”

I grinned, “Yep.”

“Good, if you would please then?”

I nod and walk over to the stove, seeing a carton of eggs, a bottle of sake and other ingredients. Smiling, I picked up an egg and cracked it, into a bowl, repeating it a few more times.

I had learned how to make the dish from studying a Japanese cookbook I received as a Christmas gift years ago, having actually practiced making it a few times. But when I moved in with Rachel, I really went to town and experimented with making it. So you could say I was well-versed in it, along with a few other dishes.

I quickly whipped up the eggs, mixing in the rest of the ingredients, pouring it into a square pan. A few minutes, and some folding later, I carefully placed it onto a dish to let it cool. Yukari had already made her contributions, basically the same meal we had for dinner.

I eyed a few other ingredients on the counter, noting that the cooker had a lot more rice in it than last night as well. The only answer that came to mind…rice balls. I grinned, knowing that I was going to get to make some later on.

We then placed the breakfast onto the table and started to eat. A day of firsts, it was going to be awesome. We hurriedly, but carefully ate our meal. I saw a Yukari smiling as she ate my dish, giving a nod of approval. I grinned at her. When we finished, we washed everything and placed all the dishes onto the drying rack.

The both of us then walked through the living room and back out onto the porch. Slipping on my shoes, I hopped onto the grass, tails swishing around me, eager to begin. My teacher gracefully stepped onto the grass, with Fenris lying down onto the porch, watching us.

She smiled to me, “Now, let me first say that I was rather impressed with the abilities you demonstrated each time I visited you for each of your birthdays. Those 'orbs' of yours were particularly were intriguing. I’ve never once encountered such a spell before.”

My ears perked up as my tails rose high, “I created the spell by copying the abilities of my favorite character from a game I really like.”

She smiled, “You then combined them with what I showed you from your previous birthday, using your tails as the medium. In effect, combining magic styles.” I giggled, remembering the sparring session prior to her lesson with me.

“Then there is that spell you performed by enveloping yourself in magic and launching yourself at your target, firing attacks at them,” she continued, “something I discovered about that ability is in fact you are actually causing yourself to phase into a semi-spirit form, possibly allowing you to pass through solid objects such as people or even other spells.”

Spirit Rush, it’s the ultimate ability of my pet name’s namesake. It was one of the two main abilities I spent the most time perfecting and over the past summer, really advanced on their proficiency.

Looking to her, the woman beamed, “Apparently you were already exploring the use of the fact that kitsune are not only flesh, but also spirit. Intriguing.”

My cheeks blushed softly. The other ability I practiced was that of the kitsune-bi, or foxfire, which is a natural ability of the kitsune.

Yukari smiled to me, “Getting to the point of what this is about, I feel that I don’t have to teach you how to harness your magic, as you mother has done that already. No, what I shall be teaching you is how to perfect your illusionary spells. I understand you used a specially made tag to cast the form of your original self. Am I correct?”

I nodded to her, “Yes Ma’am.”

She smiled, “May I see you use that spell?”

I looked to her and then to Fenris, already had brought out one tag for me. I smiled, thanking him. I held up the tag, infusing it lightly with magic, and threw it onto the grass. The image of my old form appeared between Yukari and I.

The kitsune smiled, examining the image before her, even touching it a few time. Each time she did, I felt it. “I have to say, you were rather handsome as a man.”

I slunk back slightly, “Yeah…was told that a lot. But this is the past, one I don’t have much attachment to anymore.”

The kitsune nodded, “I understand that my dear. Regardless, you truly have perfected this form of magic.”

I shook my head, “To an extent. It’s kind of taxing after a while.”

She gazed over at me, “Well, using your tags aside, what were I tell you could also utilize magic itself as a medium?”

My eyes grew wide, “Seriously?”

“Of course,” she replied, “but typically only in conjunction with kitsune-based magic.”

I then conjured a small ball of bluish-white flame, “You mean using something like this?” holding up to her.

She smiled, “Oh yes. Kitsune-bi has often been used in such a way. But from what I learned of you from your mother, you tend to combine magic from the other races you can transform into. This means that you are able to produce magic with some rather unique outcomes.”

I looked that the ball of flame and then at the image of my old self. Already I was coming up with new ideas, some which might prove rather nastily if used.

“I can see the wheels turning in that little head of yours, Aria-chan.” I grinned at her.

She then smiled to me, “Now, let us begin your first lesson.” I nodded, dispelling the illusion.

The entire day was spent learning how to perfect my illusionary magic. It turns out the reason why it was so taxing for me was because I was using western magic to complete a kitsune spell. Given my penchant for combining magic it shouldn’t have been a problem.

But this specific spell was solely used for use with the spirit and not the raw magic that nearly every other spell I utilized. So this particular spell was only meant to use kitsune mana, and nothing else. This was why it had been so taxing on me. Once I figured that out, it became a whole lot easier to cast the illusion and maintain it.

She even taught me how to infuse magic into the clones so that they also would be able to wield it, though limited it be. Fenris stood guard, making sure that my magic would go out of control as he always did.

We took a break around midday and made the rice balls. This was an item that I hadn’t worked on before. We returned the kitchen where I watched Yukari set about, taking a spoonful of filling and placing it into clump of rice, rolling it into a triangular ball. She then allowed me to try and make one.

It took me three tries to get it right, and once I did, I grinned like a major idiot. We made up over a few dozen rice balls, enough to last us a few days.

By the end of the day, the two of us were exhausted. I was finally able to create a second clone of myself, but with use of another tag. I did try to use my kitsune-bi as the medium, but was unsuccessful.

Yeah, genius I am not. This only meant it was something that I would need time to perfect, of which I had plenty of.

She also mentioned using things such as leaves as mediums, which turns out to be a trick used by tanuki yokai. Kinda made me think if both races learned from the same source.

The sun had already begun to set when we wrapped up the lesson. To say I was exhausted again would be an understatement. I collapsed onto the porch, body aching and even my tails felt strained from having to channel magic through them.

Yukari smiled, sitting beside me, her pure white tails folded gracefully beside her. “You did well today.”

I smiled to her, “Thanks, it was fun.”

She leaned over to me, “Would you ever like to learn how to use kunai?”

My head tilted slightly, “You’re offering to teach me weaponry?”

She grinned, “That I am. I know you’ve gravitated towards using the kodachi as your preferred weapon, but having a secondary weapon isn’t always a bad idea.”

My lips curled into grin, “You’re on.”

“Excellent,” she smiled, looking to me. “Now, that will be at some point later on. Magic aside, I want you to venture out into the region and explore. Observe the villagers in their daily lives. Being a yokai is more than simply learning of our magic. You must embrace all that is to be here.” I nodded, pulling in my legs into my chest.

I did want to explore the area. One of the great pleasures I have while at home is to simply go out onto the Estate and walk around. Even after two years since I first visited it, I am still finding new places to explore.

You have to realize that my home is massively huge, well over two thousand acres and it’s not just a neat little square. There are so many little nooks and crannies and deviations that I still haven’t fully explored. But now I had an entire region to explore.

Resting my temple onto my knees, “Would it be okay to fly around as a dragon?”

She shook her head, “Sadly no. Western dragons are unknown in these remote parts of the country and might cause the locals to panic.”

I sighed. Well scratch the easy way. But oh well, might be better to go on foot.

She then leaned over and kissed my forehead, “Why don’t I go ahead and make us dinner?”

I smiled to her, “You’re kinda slipping into the role of a ‘mother’ aren’t you?”

She smirked, “While you are here, I might as well be. That and your mother requested that I look after you as I saw fit.”

I grinned, “And you're reveling in it aren’t you?”

A grin rose on her face, “Of course I am. Truth be told, I’ve come to think of you as my niece.”

I grinned, “Yukari-obasan.”

The woman’s eyes narrowed, “No…you are not referring to me as an old woman.” I giggled loudly, looking at her.

Obasan in Japanese, while meaning aunt, also meant “old woman”. Not exactly something you tell a lady.

She leaned in, playfully tugging on my ear, “Namaikina kitsune (Cheeky little fox).”

I laughed even more.

Yukari sighed, shaking her head, but smiled to me, “I truly believe you have taken to being a kitsune more than any form you possess, in more ways than one.” She then rose from seat and slipped into the house.

I stayed on the porch and watched the sun slowly slip lower onto the horizon. I loved today. Meeting up again with the Asha’s attendants, having my first full lesson with Yukari, and making a joke at her expense. Yeah, awesome first day.

Fenris lowered his head so that his eyes were level with mine. I smiled, reaching up and stroking his muzzle. After a few minutes I got up and went inside to help out.