But waking is not the end...

Minutes passed until one of us moved again. And as I was pinned to the ground, it was Ayame who rose on top of me. However, something seemed off. Her eyes were glazed over, and I could feel an ominous aura emanate from her. I very much felt like prey being stared down by a predator.
“Then, since you have no objections, hehehe.” A lecherous grin was greeting me.
‘Wha-!’ Either my eyes were playing tricks on me, or she was trying to take of clothing. ‘Hold on a second! That is a bit sudden and drastic!’
However, I was powerless to stop her. Instead, I was saved by a passing-by shrine maiden. With a large paper fan, she slapped Ayame on the head, sending her face racing down onto my chest. Both of these combined were having a calming effect of her. And, after taking a few deep breaths, she had returned to normal.

“What the hell are you doing?! For God’s sake, take it slow and get a room.” Suzune accused us.
The surprise of the unexpected arrival quickly wore off, and Ayame asked, rubbing her head. “Why are you here?”
“Easy.” She snorted. “I wanted to make sure Minoru didn’t accidentally lose his way when it counted.”
While I didn’t know about her following us, it didn’t surprise me as much. She has looked after me all the while, so of course she’d like to be there for the finale. By now, I had found out she had a huge soft spot for romance novels and TV-shows. So, getting to see it live would be worthwhile occurrence for her.
Still, that was not the point of my most concern right now. “Why did Ayame suddenly go…”
“Feral?” I wouldn't have used that word, but in a sense, Suzune was right. “Well… I take it she hasn’t explained anything to you, right?”
“I guess…” I didn’t know what kind of info I was missing, so I couldn’t directly agree. Ayame in turn started to turn red, perhaps embarrassed to have forgotten in the heat of the moment.
Observing us, Suzune sat down opposite of us. Starring at us, expecting to do the same. We both sat upright, though Ayame leaned more into me, grasping my hand. I welcomed it, and returned the gesture.
Seemingly accepting the current position as good enough, the talks began.

“Have you ever heard about old folktales about kitsune?” The shrine maiden asked me.
“I mean… about as much as anyone.” ‘Maybe I should have read up some more?’ In the past, I hadn’t, as it felt a bit like prying into someone’s secrets. I had wanted to hear it from the people themselves.
My response was met with a sigh. “I thought as much. So, I will give you the short version. If you ever want to know more, I suggest speaking with your girlfriend.” At the mention of the last word, both Ayame and me jumped a bit. “What? Isn’t that what she is to you now?”
“…Yes.” I answered after some thought. ‘I mean, technically she would be my fiancée after my proclamation, but I shouldn’t focus on that now.’ The agreement was met by a slight purr from my side. ‘Purr? I guess she does that.’

“Back on topic.” Suzune’s words dragged me back to the present. “Remember how I told you in the beginning that your words, especially promises, carry a lot of weight?”
“Yes.” It was a common tale that humans would be cursed or worse when they broke a promise with a youkai.
“Perhaps you might see where I am going with this. In the past, you had promised to marry Aya when you grow up. That promise itself is a form of magic. And it is binding. Not only that, it was done with the agreement of both sides, further strengthening in.”
“…Wait. How come you know about that?” I hadn’t told her.
“As I said a few months ago, I had figured out why the seal was weakened. Your promise to her was essentially a spell cast against such a seal.” She spoke as if it was an obvious matter. Though her next words were a quiet mutter. “But I do not understand how she could have overlooked that.”
Shaking her head to put the matter out of her mind, Suzune resumed the original point. “Anyway. That spell made you more susceptible to develop certain emotions for her. So, while it might surprise yourself, it is understandable to go as far as to say you will marry her.”

‘Just a second. If it comes from the promise, does it mean-’ Seeing the shock on my face, I got interrupted before I could finish that thought. “I said susceptible, not create. Think of it as a type of amplification. Your emotions are real, just stronger than would usually be. Do not worry about that.” Seeing that my negative thinking had passed, the nekomata gave me a reassuring smile. “And in my personal experience, almost all marriages that involved a kitsune have been merry ones, both partners happy. So, look forward to it.” The, her reassuring tone switched to a smug one. “And I expect to be invited to the ceremony. Heck, if you do a Shinto one, I expect it to be hosted at my shrine, and a sufficient donation to go with it.”

I took a deep breath, calming the maelstrom of emotions in my heart. The crux of the matter hadn’t been solved yet. “How does this relate to Ayame?”
“Easy. If you developed these kinds of feelings in a matter of month, how do you think it has gone for her, waiting for you for several years.” With this comment, Suzune switched her view from me to my partner. Taking a look at her, I could see her entire face turning bright red.
“I… just lost control of myself for a moment there. It won’t happen again.”
Her old friend viewed her with sympathy. “I mean, it is understandable, after you had bottled that up for so long. Not to mention at times, even during our sleep overs, when you-”
“Suzu!” An angry glare was enough to silence this sentence.
The shrine maiden gave a short cough. “Still, as something like this might happen again, I will prepare something.” Her view shifted back to me. “I will prepare a similar paper-fan for you. Don’t worry, it won’t hurt her.”
Even putting aside the notion of hitting her with it, “I do not think I will need it.”
“Huh?!”
“I mean, it is just her expressing her love. So, if I were to reject that…” It would feel bad. Probably not only for me, but also for Ayame.
But, contrary to my resolve, she disagreed. “I still think you should have one.”
“Huh?” Now it was my time to be surprised.
“I mean,” her face, already red as a tomato, seemed to start steaming. “There may be times where I may or may not be in full control of myself…”
I didn’t follow along. “What exactly do you mean by that.”
Ayame let out a short gasp, and remained silent. Instead, Suzune answered me exasperatedly. “Seriously? Do you have no delicacy at all?”
“…Sorry.” I had no idea what the issue was, but it felt better to simply let it go.

Still, the awkwardness passed quickly, and a celebratory mood returned. It was a happy occasion, so we should be merry.
Together, the three of us made our way out of the forest. Suzune was leading the way, walking several steps ahead of us. This meant Ayame and I had some space, which we used to practice walking arm in arm. I wasn’t sure of it in the first place, as the floor had tree roots crawling across it, which might turn into a tripping hazard. However, another part of em didn’t want to reject this chance, so we went through with it.
And it was successful. We didn’t stumble, and I could be closer to her. Though thinking about doing this in public was a whole other matter. But, we would cross that bridge when we got to it.

Not long after, we found ourselves reaching the end of the forest. Past the last few trees, we emerged… on the shrine grounds.
“How did we get here so quickly?” They should have been a greater distance from where we had been.
As always, Suzune could provide me with an answer. “Ah, a small trick. One of the paths the fairies use to traverse the woods quickly. It was alright since I was there, so do not try to do so on your own without their allowance, or they will play tricks on you. And I do not want to have to track someone again. Once per month is more than enough…”
Plagued by her own troubles arising from her position, the shrine maiden let her shoulders hang down. For the first time since my confession, Ayame parted from me, and walked over to her friend. She whispered something to her, and they exchanged smiles.
“Anyway, don’t let me disturb you anymore. May the young couple find happiness.” Giving us her blessings as her farewell, Suzune withdrew into the annex building.
Now it was just Ayame and me again. We looked at each-other bashfully, and held hands, fingers intertwined. Carefully, we made our way down the steps, and took a stroll through the outer part of town.
By then, with touring the forest and all, it had already gotten a bit late. And soon enough, it was time to split up. Neither of us wished to part. Nonetheless, Ayame saw the positive of the situation. “It is the start of summer vacation now. So, we can spend all the days we want together. I will cling so much to you that you would wish I was away.” She giggled.
“Oh, I doubt you will be capable of that.” I looked into her eyes.
“Are you sure about that?” She drew closer.
“Yes.” I embraced her.
Sharing a few more moments of eye contact, we closed them, and kissed for a final time that day. After a short promise to talk on the phone later, we waved each-other goodbye. Full of good spirits, I turned to my way home. Everything had gone well, and I was brimming with optimism.

Finally, I had been able to get things together, remember what my dream was about. It looked like I had gotten what I wanted. But no. This was not the end, just the beginning. The beginning of our story.
I was sure there were many obstacles to come, and it wouldn’t always be smooth sailing. Being from different somewhat different worlds, they might be test that would strain the bonds of our love. However, I was sure we would overcome them. Together.
But for now, it was time to enjoy ourselves in the summer fun to come.