The beauty she seized

The rain had stopped. The glow of neon lights reflect in puddles on the ground. Yukari kicks at pebbles in the road as she follow Hayato through the streets of Tōkyō. She hated how quiet it suddenly felt. Like the city froze in time. "You're staying with me," Hayato had said earlier, "it's not optional." His face hadn't held any expression. As unmoving as the mountain he was leading her towards. She had wanted to argue at first, but soon remembered she doesn't have a lot of options in this realm. At least she'll have a place to stay and someone by her side that shares her enemies. Still, her curiosity got the better of her. "Why?" He hadn't even looked at her, he just started walking, expecting her to follow. "Because you'll get yourself killed. Or worse, lead a yōkai into a human filled city." 

Her tail had been fully restored now, though she hid that fact from him, keeping her tail concealed, hiding the faint glow under a coat. With some of her power back, her natural healing had kicked in and her shoulder was already getting better. She watches his broad back. His hand remains on the hilt of his sword as if he's expecting an attack at any moment. They walk past store fronts, through bustling intersections, all in silence. Something about the way he carries himself with a quiet calculation draws her attention. Her fingers tug at her scarf, a small smile tugging at her lips. She could sway him the way she swayed spirits. Her golden eyes stay on him, but he doesn't look at her.

"You're trying something," his voice was monotonous as ever, but it almost sounded knowing. She pauses for a moment, then chuckles, the sound gentle and smooth. "I'm... just tired. You know... running around fighting spider yōkai." "You're not tired enough." There's a slight tug at the corner of his lips. Not a smile, more like a warning. The silence returns until they finally reach his cottage on the mountain. Her legs were on fire, her muscles unfamiliar with the human limbs and the walk had been long.

The cottage is simple, impersonal. Talismans locked up in plain looking steel cases covered in sigils, no decorations, no warmth. He point to a door. "You'll sleep there." She looks in the direction, two doors directly across each other, separated by a hallway. "You'll get up early tomorrow. I have things to do. You're coming with me." It was a statement, not a request. She purses her lips, every fiber in her wants to argue with this human that's ordering her around, but she's in no position to do much except go along with it. She nods, heading into the room. Sleep doesn't come that night. Her muscles protest, her mind races, calm evades her.

The sun isn't fully up when he opens her door, tossing a bread at her. "Eat quick and get up." He doesn't linger for even a second. She eats quickly, she hadn't realized how starved her human body was. Kitsune don't need human food, but she's barely a Kitsune at the moment. She stretches her limbs before getting up and walking out. He's already dressed and armed, his hand resting on his sword like a habit. "Let's go." He doesn't look in her direction, the assumption that she'll follow seems to be his normal. And she does. "Where are we going?" "I need supplies for... a ritual. And you're not leaving my sight. No discussion." She wanted to protest, but the way his dark eyes scan the area makes her instincts yell that he needs her. She felt that small tug in her chest again, that gut feeling she seems to have, so she follows him.

The trip was mostly in silence but she tried again. Small gestures, sweet smiles, looks that lingered a little too long, but he didn't return them. Never looking at her more than necessary. He was careful, distant and attentive. But the way his shoulders stayed in a perfect line, how his hands touched the talisman on his belt, showed something more. Protection. It wasn't blatant or obvious, but her gut told her he would protect her. 

When the stopped at a shrine hidden at the edge of a town, blocked by overgrowth of bamboo and scattered stones, she knew why they were there. "This is it. This area has been disrupted recently. A spirit passed through, corrupted by one of your tails." The tug at her chest flares violently. She nearly stumbled on the moss covered stone. "I... I feel it," she whispers. "Stay close. Don't act recklessly."

The air is unnaturally cold, an aura glowing around the lanterns, whether a warning or a call. She could see something glimmer between the human realm and the Makai. Soft silver hair flowing like a waterfall, eyes that shimmer like a frozen lake. A Yuki-onna. "Stay behind me," Hayato murmurs. "I..." "Now," he commanded, no room for argument. He takes a step forward and the yuki-onna's eyes find him instantly. Her gaze like ice. She lifts her hand and a wall of frost forms around the shrine, the moss and stone turning white. 

Yukari's instincts scream. She doesn't have foxfire to melt through the ice, no claws to dig into the spirit, just her wits and that never ending tug at her chest. Hayato leaps, flinging talismans imbued with fire to melt a path towards the yōkai. His Onikirimaru swings through the air, slicing through icicles that fall like spears. Yukari crouches behind a pillar, her breaths rapid. Her charm tail didn't prepare her for this. The tug is stronger than the last. She can feel the ice curling around the tail the yuki-onno possesses. 

"You need to distract her. Get her attention without getting yourself killed," Hayato's breath comes as mist in the air. Her pulse races. "Me? How..." "Just do it," he cuts her off. "Use your instincts and we can win this, or coward and give up your tail." Yukari stands, letting her charm flicker slightly. A soft smile, a gentle tilt of her head. The yōkai pauses for a moment, her eyes narrowing at the girl, a hint of hesitation. Yukari moves through the pillars like a dance, barely missing icicles. Her hands reach forward, letting the tug guide her to her tail.

The snow-woman lunges. The pull becomes almost unbearable. Her fingers brush the shrivelled tail around the yōkai's neck. the connection is instant this time. Light threading through her veins, the pain surging through her, but more bearable. The Yuki-onna shrieks. The sound like glaciers cracking. Hayato lunges, his sword moving with the practiced ease of a warrior, slicing through the ice that shields the yōkai. Yukari takes the opportunity to press the tail to her chest, the light bleeds through her, her tail uncurling behind her, the white glow at the tip of the cinnamon fur, returning another power to her. The Yuki-onna falters completely, unable to resist the pull. Yukari drops to her knees, breathless. Another tail retrieved. The yōkai wails, retreating in a blink to the Makai.

Hayato moves next to Yukari. "That was reckless," his voice is low, his tone measured, scolding. "I... I felt it. I had to." He looks over the fresh changes on her face, her beauty now ethereal. His jaw clenches. "You're getting more dangerous with each new tail." She looks up at him, a soft glint in her eye. "I know. but I won't stop. Not until I have them all." Hayato exhales, a sound of reluctant acceptance. "Then I'll keep watching. And when the time comes..." his eyes harden, "I'll do what I must."

Yukari's smile is soft, almost teasing. The soft glow of her second tail hidden under her clothes. She doesn't respond. The threads of her tails weave through her. Charm and supernatural beauty returned to her. She has time.  

The air seems heavier as the leave the shrine. The tug of charm flowing between them. She can feel it. The next pull will be stronger, unrelenting. The world is waiting to test her. And she's not just ready, she's eager.