I floated on my back, staring at the sky through the mist. My thoughts turned sharp, circling back to Kayda.
I'm surprised-and angry-that she's so careless sometimes. The first day we met, she went on and on about being a failure, yet she didn't deny being a pure dragon. Then today... blurting things like that. How is she in black ops if she can't keep secrets? Talking about an upcoming war in front of Amari, a thirteen-year-old innocent child...'
A voice flickered in my head like a spark. You're a hypocrite.
I froze, blinking. My ears twitched above the water. "Hmm? Did I hear something?" I glanced around, scanning the tree line. Nothing. The forest was still, save for the eternal rush of water.
I narrowed my eyes, then exhaled. "Whatever. My mind must be playing tricks on me." Still, the words gnawed. My tail twitched with unease. I just don't think Amari is ready to see the ugliness of this world. We have to preserve her innocence, at least a little longer.' My fists clenched under the water.
A heavy thud sounded on the shore. My ears perked, and I snapped upright in the water, eyes glowing faintly. The urge to strike, to pluck out eyes, rose-then I recognized the silhouette and sagged with relief.
"Mom," I breathed.
She stood at the water's edge, hands on her hips, crimson hair gleaming in the filtered sunlight. Her gaze was sharp, her voice sharper. "We've been looking everywhere for you!"
"It's only been twenty minutes," I replied, swimming lazily toward her. "I was just enjoying myself." I let a chuckle slip into my words.
"Twenty minutes is long when you vanish without a word." She tilted her head. "Kayda said you were looking for me?"
"I was," I admitted. "But I needed to calm myself first."
Her expression softened slightly. "Why?"
"Not relevant right now." I smirked, gesturing at the lake. "Why don't you join me? The water feels heavenly."
"No," she said firmly, frown deepening. "I don't have time for this, Kitsuna."
I sighed, paddling closer. "Fine, fine. So, what did you want to talk about?"
"Things." She folded her arms, eyes narrowing as I emerged from the lake.
Her gaze immediately widened. "Where are your clothes!"
I grinned, wringing water from my hair. "I can't swim with everything on, now can I?" My grin widened when I noticed the faint pink creeping across her cheeks. "Relax, Mom. I checked-no one comes here."
"Still, what if someone sees you?" She glanced around nervously, her tail swishing.
"They won't." I scooped up a handful of water, stepping out. "I made sure of it."
"Fine," she muttered. "But get out already. We need to talk about your problem."
"Will do." With a mischievous flash step, I appeared behind her and poured the cold water down her back.
"Nyaa!" Mom yelped, leaping forward.
"Haha! You just said, 'Nyaa'!" I doubled over laughing.
"That was cold!"
"I know." My grin stretched from ear to ear.
"And you were swimming in that?"
"Of course. Remember, I love the cold. I'm an icy fox." I conjured a towel from my storage and began drying myself, still smirking.
Her expression sobered. "So. What did you want to talk about?"
I hesitated, then said, "Yesterday I found out you told Kayda about me. At first I was upset, but I let it slide. She's your best friend, and I trusted your judgment. Honestly, I like her. She's fun and easy to tease. But today she crossed a line. She slipped in front of Amari. Hinted-no, outright said-that war is coming. Amari picked up on it instantly. That was the last straw. I became angry, expressed my feelings, and then left. But I needed to cool off before I could face you. So here I am."
Mom's face tightened. "She really said that?"
"Word for word, practically."
Her sigh was long and heavy. "I didn't want Amari to know about war before she went to the academy. I'll speak with Kayda later." Then her eyes flicked back to me. "But what about you? Wasn't it you who revealed yourself to your entire squad as a primordial?"
"Yes," I said bluntly, shrugging. "But I gave all of them a suicide bomb. I can kill them anytime I want."
Her jaw dropped. "You did what?"
"You remember the first time I combined fire and lightning? Two years ago." My body shuddered at the memory of my arm being blown apart.
She nodded grimly. "You lost your arm."
"Yeah. Thereafter, I kept trying until I learned to control it-by coating it with ice. Watch." I formed a small ice sphere, a black spark trapped within. Tossing it up, I released the ice. The sphere burst into a sharp crackle of flame and lightning.
Mom's eyes widened. "No way. How?"
I smirked. "Because I'm me. I slipped them into my squad's bodies without them noticing."
"When?"
"Apricot? The night of the torture. She was restrained. Sirone? While she slept, I tailed her. Brenda? When she collapsed from exhaustion." I listed them off casually.
Her voice dropped, horrified. "What if it goes off by accident?"
"It won't. The only way is if I will it. Or if Kayda's scorch magic touches it." My confidence rang like iron.
She looked torn between pride and fear. "That's... terrifying."
"Terrifying, sure," I said, shrugging. "But also effective. Even if someone hundreds of levels above me turned on me, they'd die in an instant. Don't worry, though. Only my squad and Rachel carry them. I'd never use it on your people. And I can dispel them if I need to. It's still connected to my mana."
Her shoulders eased a little. "Rebecca and Lily?"
"I only perfected the look a few months ago. I like them too much. And I'm sure they'd never betray us."
"That's excellent. But, Kitsuna, did you ever tell your squad to keep it secret?"
I blinked, then groaned, facepalming. "I can be such a genius and still be so dumb."
Her laugh was warm. "Don't worry. I told them for you."
"Huh? You were watching us?"
"From a tree. Your katana skills have improved."
My tail lashed. "And I didn't notice?!"
"Illusions, baby girl." She tapped her temple.
"Tsk. I'm hopeless against illusions. I'll learn one day."
"You will."
"Thanks. And sorry for being careless."
"It's fine. Just don't repeat it."
I slumped against a tree, hitting my forehead gently against the bark. "I'm such a hypocrite. Lecturing Kayda for being careless when I did the same."
"If you apologize, she'll forgive you."
"You think?"
"Definitely. Get her flowers. White ones."
"...Flowers?"
"She loves them."
I stared, then laughed softly. "Alright. Flowers it is."
[Two hours later]
I approached Kayda, clutching an ice vase brimming with white and red wildflowers. My heart thumped uncomfortably fast. The sunlight filtered through the trees, glinting off the frost that rimed the vase and making it shimmer like crystal.
She looked up from where she was sitting on a log, sharpening her blade. When her eyes met mine, something flickered-surprise, then warmth.
"Here." I thrust the vase forward.
She blinked, accepting it. Her fingers brushed mine, lingering for a second too long. "What's this for?"
"An apology. For what I said earlier."
Her eyes softened, but her lips curled into a teasing smile. "But you was entitled to say it."
"Not really. I was a hypocrite. Forgot to warn my squad. Mom covered for me."
"Oh." She chuckled lightly, turning the vase in her hands. The flowers caught the light, casting faint reflections across her scales. "Then I'll accept your apology-on one condition."
My eyes narrowed. "What condition?"
"You have to grant me one request, without question."
I groaned. "That doesn't sound fair. We both messed up. How about one request each?"
Her smile widened, but there was a spark in her gaze now, playful and almost daring. "Deal."
For a moment, neither of us spoke. She tucked the vase gently beside her, one hand brushing over the petals with surprising tenderness. Her other hand tapped her knee idly, but her eyes stayed on me-sharp, steady, and warmer than I expected.
I turned to leave, but my tail flicked once, revealing my nerves. "Good. Now, I need to go beat up my squad again."
"Mm." Her voice followed me, low and almost amused. "Don't keep me waiting too long for my request, Kitsuna."
I didn't look back, but I felt her smile even as I walked away-the kind of smile that lingered in the air, tugging at my chest long after I was gone.
YAY! We made 2 000 collections!!!???
Well, my phone says that if not, so we are damn close to it.
We also made 600k views, yay.
I actually missed the half-a-million views celebration, lol.
Anyways thank you all for everything.
TheRealSkolliecreators' thoughts
avataravatar
Chapter 62: A crying maiden once more
It had been a long time since I'd had a day like this-busy, chaotic, exhausting. The last time I could remember being this physically and emotionally drained was back at Rebecca and Lily's wedding. Gods, that day had been insane. Between the beautiful ceremony, the drunk confessions, the heart-to-hearts, and the terrifying party games-I narrowly avoided a few of those punishments, thank all the stars-I'd been emotionally wrung out by the end of it.
That day also revealed a horrifying truth: Rebecca's entire family consisted of sadists. The whole lot of them. Except, weirdly enough, her father. He was the lone masochist in a sea of twisted smiles and evil pranks.
But anyway-back to today.
After giving Kayda the flowers and seeing her face light up in a way that warmed my core, I returned to my squad. I half-expected them to still be stretching or discussing the last fight, but no-Brenda had already started swinging my ice odachi around like she owned it.
My brow twitched in surprise. She'd barely had it for an hour. I thought she'd at least hesitate before testing it out, considering its weight and the magic properties etched into the blade. But nope. Full swings, wide arcs. Like it was an extension of her arm.
Well, I guess that's why I picked her.
Our second sparring match of the day went much better-for them. Brenda was noticeably faster, her movements more fluid and more aggressive. That sword suited her better than her previous one. She fought like a dancer now, every step bringing her closer to a dangerous rhythm.
Apricot, meanwhile, didn't slack off either. Her coordination with Sirone was tighter. They were learning how to cover each other-properly, this time. I could see it in the way she shifted her stance slightly to cover her right flank or how she'd call out a number instead of a full sentence to direct Sirone's aim.
And speaking of Sirone-gods, the girl's aim had improved. Her bolts weren't just accurate; they were anticipatory. She wasn't aiming where I was. She was aiming where I'd be.
If I were being honest, I almost had to use a second sword. Almost.
Their speed and adaptability pushed me and forced me to stay sharp. But once I adapted to their improved movements, I could still dodge everything. My reaction speed was significantly faster than theirs. But they had made progress. A lot of it.
It wasn't a steamroll like the first time. They actually made me work for it.
By the end, I was smiling like a proud mentor. So far, I was very pleased with my choices for the squad.
We went another couple rounds before Apricot had to leave. Something about reporting to Trinity. That left just Brenda and Sirone with me.
And what if we couldn't spar?
We ran.
And ran.
And then we ran some more.
I might've overdone it.
Brenda appeared to be struggling to avoid vomiting halfway through the last lap, while Sirone collapsed as soon as I stopped calling out the times. I had to carry both of them back to their barracks-Sirone on my back and Brenda in a bridal carry that made more than one person do a double-take.
To make things worse, I was still in fox form.
A large white fox strutting through camp with a groaning tomboy princess in her arms and a sniper draped over her tail was... a sight, to put it mildly.
There were laughs. Loud ones. I took them in stride, even grinned a little. It was fine. Let them laugh. My squad was getting stronger, and that was all that mattered.
After dropping the girls off and having a quick family dinner, I finally went to sleep.
Or... I thought I would.
The stars were high when I stirred again. The air was still and quiet-too quiet. Then I heard footsteps.
Soft.
Unsteady.
I blinked an eye open to see Apricot approaching with a blanket cradled in her arms, her expression pale and worn out.
"Apricot?" I yawned. "Are you sleepwalking?"
"No." Her voice cracked, her frustration poorly veiled. "I can't even fall asleep. How am I supposed to sleepwalk then?"
I sat up, tail flicking once. I didn't need to ask-her eyes said enough.
"Nightmare again?" I asked gently.
She hesitated. Then nodded.
"Can I... please sleep with you tonight?" She mumbled, not meeting my eyes. Her fingers clutched the blanket tighter, knuckles white.
A small smile crept onto my face. "At least you asked this time."
"Is that a yes or a no?" she snapped, flustered.
"It's a yes." I chuckled, shaking my head. "But are you really sure? My tree isn't exactly five-star accommodation. The floor's hard, and I tend to shift in my sleep. And, well, fox fur gets hot."
"I'll be fine," she said quietly. "As long as I can sleep in your fur."
She didn't wait for permission. She simply walked around, stepped carefully between my front and back legs, and settled against my side with a soft sigh. Her back pressed into my belly, her shoulders trembling just slightly.
I curled around her protectively, wrapping my tail outward so it wouldn't bother her.
"Thank you," she murmured, curling tighter under the blanket.
"No problem," I said softly. "And... if you ever want to talk about it-I mean really talk-I have some experience with what you've gone through."
A pause.
"...You've been forced before?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
I winced. "Not quite."
"...You forced someone?"
"What? No!" I barked, ears folding back. "I might not have been a girl in my past life, but I would never force anyone."
"That doesn't help your case, Kitsu," she muttered, side-eyeing me.
"Listen here, you damn doggie-shut up and let me explain."
She huffed but went quiet.
"In my previous life, I was a man," I said slowly. "In my last life. A pretty tall one, actually. Scar over my eye, rough voice, the works. I lived with some... bad people. Real pieces of shit. Stayed with them until I turned fifteen. Then I finally got out."
