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A bit of afterstory with Heishiro and Tsuneko. Not written by me, written by a friend~

“Where are we going? We’ve been walking for so long…” Tsuneko let out an annoyed huff, looking out the window of the house as it lurched ahead. In response, she felt a clump of dirt hit her in the forehead.

“You should have stopped that.” A voice came from the roof. She let out a growl, climbing out of the window and grabbing the side of the roof, pulling herself up to where Heishiro lay, lazily taking in the sun.

“You didn’t answer my question!”

“And you’re not walking, the house is. We’re going to continue your training. You’ve been slacking.”

“… Huh? What, no I haven’t!” She’d done her routines, ate well, and-

“You haven’t slacked on your physical workouts, no. However, your magic is pathetic. Normally, you could excuse yourself by saying you have two sets of abilities so it’s slow work…” He opened an eye. “But considering that the other two we’re meeting, in addition to myself, all have the same, it’s no excuse. Besides, you’re going to be getting a new disciple.”

“…” She stared. “… D.. Disciple?”

“Mhm. Kitsune who can still use magic are incredibly rare. Those who bear the elements are literally four out of those existing elites… Yet you managed to find two, myself and Gentoka. Did that never tip you off that something may be afoot?” He sat up, stretching. “It’s not your fault for not realizing at the time… But really, after all this time? Hehe, it’s kind of pathetic.” He teased, much to her chagrin.

“… Then why, enlighten me.” She mocked. “I’d love to hear it…”

“Well, it’s simple. I was originally looking for Gentoka, to bring him to the Passing of the Flame… Literally, in this sense. You see,” He sat up, stretching. “Elementals, what I’ll call those who bear the four, cannot die of old age. As a result, they have to either be killed, forgotten, or pass on what they know. Gentoka took on a disguise and lived a quiet life as a test of sorts, damning himself because his pride. The powers are meant to keep balance, yet he seemed to believe it merely made him better than others. If you refuse to use your gifts, the gifts find someone who will. Honestly, you can even use them for good or evil… As long as they’re used. He made his play too late.”

… If he’d decided to do what he did sooner… Tsuneko’s brow furrowed.

“Hey, kit, relax. What matters is that nothing happened… Well, nothing world changing. So, let’s have some fun, ok?” He smiled. “We’re stopping by a village on the way, and we’re gonna buy some gifts for the other two!”

“… Huh? Why?”

“Well, it’s just to be kind… It’s been so long… And… They’re gonna be mad I didn’t let the element go naturally and gave it to you, so I want to ease up their anger a bit…?”

“… You can find the gifts yourself.” She turned her nose before climbing back down.

“Hey- Come on, don’t leave me! I don’t know what gifts women like!”

------------------------------

“You said I would have a disciple, what did you mean by that?” Tsuneko held the basket of goods Heishiro purchased as she sat next to him.

“Exactly what it sounds like. The new element does not know they’ve been chosen until it happens. There’s no fanfare or shouting, because that would lead people to try and train the perfect host. There’s no annual date or such… They just decide it’s time to pass on, and choose a worthy successor based on what they think.”

“… It sounds kind of sloppy.”

“It is.”

“… Then why do it like that?”

“If you have a better idea, I’d love to hear it.”

“…” … Fair.

“Besides, it’s not like there isn’t lots of deliberation. The Elemental is literally going to let their physical body die and become an Elemental spirit to linger in the spirit world. It’s not a decision to be made lightly.”

“… What do you mean physical body- Isn’t the spirit world death?”

“Hm… You all really have been ignorant. No, the body dies, then the spirit dies, then they go into the afterlife.”

“… Hm…” So confusing…

“Now, the reason they’re going to be your disciple is because you are technically their senior, and the youngest, relative to them. The soon-to-be former Fire is a nine tail, like Gentoka. The Water is an eight. I am a six. You are a three. You are, therefore, closest to them. They will be a one. That’s the one thing that’s always consistent, you must be a one tail. That’s another reason they might be upset, as you had three when you got your power. You’ll be the new Fire’s closest in age… But you’ll be continuing your training right alongside them to master your element, considering you can hardly use it. In addition, you’ll half to help them as a senior, survive our harsh training. Normally, there would be three teachers…”

He then poked her cheek.

“But thanks to someone, it will now be two teachers and a slightly more experienced student learning to be a teacher. There’s three things to worry about… Physical training, magical training, and elemental training. The last two are kind of the same thing, but well, we don’t know what power they’ll develop. All powers a Kitsune has are related to changing or using their body, like how a trickster can shapeshift.” He shrugged. “For example, my power, which I’ve dubbed Martyrdom, lets me use my life as energy. I got lucky, since my connection to the Earth is basically a massive energy source to keep myself from dying. It made my relatively minor power massive. You, though… Your power is what I’ve dubbed Heroism. The more confident you are, the better you can do. It doesn’t make you any stronger, but everything you do is just, well, better. In short, if you act like a master, you might be one… Just the power’s luck it got attached to a meek redneck- Ow!” He scooched over as she punched his arm. “Just a joke…” He huffed.

“Anyways, the point is, some powers like mine synergize well with their element. Some like yours have the potential to but don’t naturally sync. If they get a power that works too well, they could potentially hurt themselves or those around them by not knowing their limits.”

Tsuneko let herself nod. That all made sense… When he wasn’t being a jerk, he could show a relatively master-like side of himself show. Now only if he could let it stick.

“What about the other two?”

“Hm?” He glanced over.

“What are their powers…? Actually, no, just tell me about them in general, if you can.”

“… One of them is literally going to die really soon, are you sure you wanna waste- Ah, stop glaring, just a joke! Eesh… Ok, which first?”

“… Fire, then.”

“I see… Nishimura is an older woman, I’d say she was emotional, but really, it would be a nice way of saying anger issues. People say the elements and personalities sync up, and she helps that theory. It makes sense, though. Fire is destruction but gives life. Sort of like a trade, she is the one who lets forests burn so new life can grow. I guess it’d make anyone upset… A lot of the time, my father, and later myself, would get credit for things she would do, and she would be blamed as a murderer. They pray for warm summers when the warmth benefits them, and curse when it doesn’t… That’s the elements in general, though. A big canvas where those below them can only see a small corner. You can’t blame them, but I’m sure it doesn’t make it sting any less…” He waved his hand away, as if trying to brush it off.

“Anyways, where was I… Right, Nishimura. Firey but friendly, showing the warmth of her element. Her power is Camouflage. It sounds odd at first, and kind of useless, but when you can create a field of smoke and blend right in, it turns something mostly useless into something terrifying. Fire can be bright and flashy, but can be just as quiet and deadly, drawing your eyes to the flame while the smoke slips right in. Most people don’t die from burning, after all, they die from the smoke.” He seemed to ponder. “… She’s a pretty woman. Short and messy blonde hair, nice smile, golden eyes. A shame she’s so rude, I might have fell for her instead. What could have been- Ow, stop hitting me over jokes!” Nonetheless, he smirked.

“… She sounds nice. Still, she sounds young, why would she want to die?”

“… Well, we all have our reasons. Also, she sounds young. Looks young too… However, you don’t age unless you want to. As a matter of fact, I should be dead of old age. You’ll look exactly like you do right now, too, if you choose to.”

“… I will? How do I ‘choose’?”

“You just do, trust me. It’ll change naturally based on your heart. I say ‘control’, but it’s more of your body’s instinct, so don’t worry about waking up looking old or wanting to grow up but being stuck as you are forever. What happens, happens, and you’ll be okay with it. It’s why someone like Gentoka looked older than me, but only a bit, rather than us being skeletons. Make sense?”

“… I suppose, yeah.” … She’d take his word for it and hope she didn’t wake up like he said. “Oh- Water now, right?”

“Hm, oh, yeah, her. Sawaya. She’s a bit more of an oddball… Then against, most Waters are. Go with the flow, eye of the storm, yadda yadda… Silver hair, blue eyes… She used to be the second youngest, but thanks to recent and soon to occur events, will now be the oldest, and you’ll take her spot as second youngest. She’s friendly as well, but thanks to her power, is… strange.”

“… What’s her power?”

“I’m getting to that… She has Instinct. She just… does things that happen to work out in her favor. She’ll blow your candle out for seemingly no reason, then later during the night, your cat knocks over a decanter of oil right where your candle would have been. You wake up without even realizing she saved your life… Thing is, she doesn’t know what her actions will do, or which ones are from her power and which are just gut feelings, which means she isn’t just a good luck charm at all times. Ever have someone poison your food because they think it would help you, and all you get is the runs?” he huffed and shot a glare when she snickered. ”Yeah, yeah, it sounds funny, but don’t forget you’ll have to deal with her as much as I will from now on. Welcome to the club… Anyways, that’s about all that matters. You’ll form your own impression when you see her.”

“… Hm… Alright… What did you buy them anyway?”

“Yeah, nice try. I’m not gonna let you take credit for it.”

“Mn!”

------------------------------

They finally stopped at a small village, one that felt quite familiar to Tsuneko. It was much like her own, a tiny farming village just making due with what they had… Quite nostalgic.

“Alright, hop down.” The house settled and groaned before sitting back into the dirt as Heishiro hopped off, stretching. “And careful with that basket. If that stuff breaks you’re gonna put the pieces back together.”

“Hm… Tempting to break it and not tell you~” He hopped down, holding the basket as she did, hardly making a sound as she did. Still had to get used to bearing the Aspect of Air… Minor things like that still caught her off guard.

“Now, come on. They should be somewhere around here… Don’t worry about hiding your tails, either. Those two should have already made sure that they’re expecting us… Well, myself and Gentoka. You’ll be giving the gift because you’re a gift in and of yourself!”

“… Feels more like you’re tossing me to the wolves…”

“Partially.” He smiled.

“Hmph…” She could feel the eyes on her as she walked into the village. Right… She wasn’t just a farmer anymore… It gave her conflicted feelings. These weren’t allowed to linger, however, as Heishiro stopped in front of what looked like a small home.

“Alright, ready?”

“… I think so.” Heishiro nodded in response and opened the door up. The inside was humble, with the only inhabitants being two Kitsune, bearing resemblance to how Heishiro described the other two elementals, sitting across a table from one another as they spoke. However, their intrusion seemed to cut their conversation in the middle.

“Nishimura! Sawaya! It’s so good to see you!” Heishiro walked in, moving to hug them. They remained kneeling, looking right past him.

“… Who’s the kid?” Nishimura spoke up first… She sounded less like a sweetheart and more of a thug. “You were s’posed to bring Gentoka. And I doubt he’s in the basket.”

As she spoke, Sawaya quietly unraveled and put a nearby blanket under the table that separated the two, and a pillow on top.

“… Heh…” Heishiro scratched his cheek. “Want the bandage ripped of slowly or quickly?”

“Heishiro…” She growled.

“Hehe, quick, got it, Gentoka is gone and Tsuneko is the new air- Mng?!” He jumped as the table was smashed by Nishimura’s fist crashing onto it, Sawaya moving the pillow away afterwards and using the blanket to tie the shards into a nice bundle before setting it aside.

“Now, Tsuneko, why don’t you wait outside, uh, go look around!”

“Oh no you don’t, kid, st-“

“Have fun!” Heishiro then pushed her out the door, locking it behind. Tsuneko could already hear the screaming match behind the door…

She’d just… leave the basket by the door and go do what he said…

------------------------------

Apparently, the village had no name. They just… existed. Humble, helping one another, just getting by… Still, they lived a quiet and happy life, and were more than happy to share it with her. The place she currently resided was the unofficial town center, a large building once built for religious purposes long forgotten that now served as an area to gather. The hall had areas to cook, to play games, to craft, or merely chat. She was in the middle of being taught how to sew by a pair of young twins when she felt a pair of hands on her shoulders.

“You are… Tsuneko, right? It’s nice to meet you… my name is Sawaya…” The voice was smooth and soft, like a babbling brook. “I’m very thankful for the gift you purchased for myself and Nishimura. Heh, how did you know that I liked dresses?”

… Guess Heishiro covered for her in that aspect.

“Ah… Yes, I am, and… Lucky guess?” She offered, smiling as she turned. She was met with a pair of soft eyes and a smile to match shining back at her. “Uh… How’s the situation with Heishiro and-“

“Oh, don’t worry about those two, they’ll be fine… Besides, I came here to speak with you. If I wanted to talk about those two I would have stayed there. Girls,” She turned to the twins. “Would you mind if I took her away? I’ll make you both some nice dolls if you can let me have a moment of her time…”

The girls seemed excited at the prospect, nodding before running off, allowing Sawaya to pull her up and start leading her out of the building. So far, Tsuneko thought, she didn’t seem to be all that strange… But hopefully she wouldn’t end up jinxing herself by mentioning it. Soon enough they were alone on a hillside as she let Tsuneko’s hand go, sitting down. Tsuneko followed suit.

“So… Tell me about yourself, Tsuneko… If you really are the newest member of our Quartet, I believe that it is necessary to learn… Ah,” She hugged herself, smiling. “Two new elements so close together… It’s exciting…”

“… Right. Well, I like stories… I enjoy farming- Uhm, the harvesting part, not the planting. Gardening, swimming…”

“You like gardening, but not planting? Why is that?” More questions…

“Erm… I just… Don’t, heh… I guess I like to maintain what’s already there, rather than try to do something new… it’s complicated.” She gave a nervous giggle. Sawaya just smiled.

“And stories… What kind?”

“Oh… Uh… Anything interesting, really, but I do really enjoy folklore… I even write some… Although I guess writing folklore doesn’t make much sense, sense folklore are stories that are passed down…” She looked as if she was about to ramble before Sawaya let out a light laugh.

“I think it’s wonderful you have such a passion. Many enjoy stories, but it takes a special someone to make something worthy and beloved enough to start being passed on.”

“Ah… Thank you…” … Her face felt warm. “… Heishiro said you all would be mad, but you seem fairly calm.” Another light laugh.

“Oh, I’m very upset, honestly… At least, I was, before we had our chat. Now I think you might have what it takes to stick around… Besides, I realized on my way here, if you aren’t worthy then you’ll eventually just die, so it will all work out~”

… Yeah, she jinxed it.

“Hehe… Riiight… Uh, speaking of dying, should we head back? Nishimura seemed… really upset.”

“Oh, her? She’s a big softie, he’ll be fine… But we should head back, yes, before it gets late. Come, follow~” She stood, walking ahead.

… Let’s hope Nishimura wasn’t as bad.

------------------------------

To say things were tense was an understatement.

The four sat around a new table, with Nishimura and Heishiro sitting across from one another on one side, and Sawaya and Tsuneko on the other respectively. While it was meant to make them feel equal, right now, it felt more like Sawaya and Tsuneko were the mediators for what would be a bloody brawl. On the table, an empty tea cup sat in front of all of them, with the pot itself in the middle.

Heishiro looked nervous, trying to do anything but look at Nishimura, while she stared right where his eyes would be should he dare challenge her. Tsuneko had never seen him like this… But, then again, Nishimura was technically his elder.

Sawaya giggled, starting to pour them each tea.

“Let’s all relax, ok?” She offered. “Just because you’re going to move on to the spirit world soon doesn’t mean you’re allowed to leave a bad impression before you do…”

“Kh…” She turned her gaze towards Tsuneko. “… I was led to believe that we were to leave decisions to pass the Elements on to a group decision, or to let it naturally pass. Yet we have proof right here that apparently means nothing.”

Mn… It wasn’t even her fault and she was feeling guilt.

“I already told you, if we just waited for Gentoka to do what he wanted to, more damage would be done… It’s better to give the power to someone I know can be trusted-“

“It’s better to let it go and let it choose a suitable wielder.”

“Like you’re doing?”

Her eyes snapped back to Heishiro, who was doing his best to keep his eyes on her.

“… I apologize for being rash with my decision, but not for who I chose… I’m not a child any longer. Gentoka is gone, and you will be too. I’ll be the second oldest out of all of us.”

She looked as if she was about to counter, but Sawaya interrupted.

“He has a point… I’m now, technically, the second oldest as of right now… And when you’re gone, I’ll be oldest…” She smiled as she began to pour everyone tea. “I know as well as you that,” she halted halfway, taking out a small handkerchief and setting it next to Nishimura’s cup before going back to pouring, “if you have made this decision, you would be just like Heishiro right now, insisting it was right… We’re not perfect, or we wouldn’t be arguing about this. Gentoka was one of us, the eldest, yet he became corrupt. Our judgement is not always sound… Heishiro did what he thought was best at the time, you should give him credit for trying to do what he thought would impress you.”

“… Impress… huh?” The brash Kitsune seemed confused, as did Heishiro, who took the chance to sip his tea to try and hide the fact.

“Nishi… When Heishiro’s parents passed on, I seem to remember you insisting his father was a fool for passing his gift onto an emotional, meek child… And then you proceeded to become a new parental figure for him. You’d hardly let him leave your side, always making some excuse about his training not being finished yet… And when he finally left, how you cried-“

“Shaddup!” She barked, snapping her head over.

“… You cried?” Heishiro spoke up. He sounded so meek.

“… No, I didn’t cry…” Nishimura huffed, sipping from her tea as she kept her eyes averted from him. “I just… Had allergies, for a while.”

“Hehe, allergies, I see…” Sawaya hummed. “… And Heishiro, you should be more apologetic…”

“Huh? Me? Weren’t you just defending-“ He was interrupted.

“Yes, I was defending you. She was much too harsh… But you are just as immature. I swear, you’re both so thick skulled… She spent all of this time caring for you, yet you can hardly tell when she’s upset? How sad…” She sipped her own tea, but rather than bringing her lips to the cup, she just brought the liquid up, sipping it when it reached her lips. “She’s upset because she doesn’t want to let you grow up. She’s about to leave and entrust you with, in effect, the world. Sure, you all can still communicate through meditation… But her influence will be gone from this plane. She’s sending you out on your own all over again… Can you imagine how hard that must be on her?”

They were both quiet, before Nishimura sniffled, taking the handkerchief to wipe her face.

“… Damn you, Sawaya… Stop actin’ like the adult here, that’s my job…” She wiped her eyes, letting out a shaky sigh. “I just… I trust you… But it scares me… God, I’m scared to go. The moment I made my choice, I was wishin’ I could swallow my words back down and shut my mouth, but I don’t go back on my word… And… The world needs to change, I can’t let that happen if I keep my butt planted firmly in the dirt.” She blew into the cloth.

Heishiro didn’t seem to fare much better, making all manner of facial expressions to keep tears from flowing.

“… I know, and… I’m really sorry. You did a great job as a parent, I dunno how I became such a brat…” That earned a weak smile from Nishimura.

“That part’s on your parents. They gave me crap, I just had to work with it.” Heishiro let himself grin in response.

“I wouldn’t speak too bad about them… You’re about to go see them… That, and Gentoka too.”

“Yeah, I’m gonna have some choice words for all of ‘em. They best be workin’ together if they wanna stop my rampage.” She laughed, wiping her eyes one more time, before she turned to Tsuneko.

“… Tsuneko, right?” Tsuneko just nodded.

“Ah, yes… I mean, yes ma’am-“

“Ah, shaddup, or I’ll punch you. Don’t call me ma’am, I’ll feel old… well, older. Guess this is a pretty garbage first impression. Can you meditate?”

“… Not like Heishiro, no.”

“Ah, a shame, then that means this is gonna be a pretty terrible first impression. Heishiro, get on training her, I need to make it up to her. I don’t recall giving you permission to slack off.”

“If you could, you’d force me to work until I learned to train in my sleep…” He muttered.

“… Heh, that’s a good idea, I should have done that sooner.”

“Mn!” She just laughed again, Sawaya letting herself giggle, with Heishiro eventually laughing as well. Soon enough, Tsuneko found even herself laughing… It felt like she was with family, in a way…

“Now… Let’s try to enjoy tonight, eh? We can do this again when the two new kits learn how to do things the way we old folks do. You hear that, kit?” Sawaya looked over at Tsuneko. “I’m gonna have you spar with me when you learn to meditate good and proper and whoop your butt like I whooped this runt’s.” She nodded to Heishiro, before perking up. “Ah, right, I almost forgot that gift you got for us. Did Hei tell you I like food or somethin’? Cause you’d be right!”

She grabbed the basket from nearby, pouring the contents onto the table. Various sweets and bottles of alcohol.

“I’ve already got the villagers ready to bring us food until we pop, so consider this the appetizer! Eat up, you filth!”

… Hehe… Well, an odd family… But one she could feel happy with.

TO BE CONTINUED…?

#oc text #heishiro #tsuneko #written by the friend who owns heishiro #this probably makes no sense as i have never talked about the story between heishiro and tsuneko that leads up to this afterstory #i will elaborate one day though #or now #if i was asked about it but until then itd be in their profile

A bit of afterstory with Heishiro and Tsuneko. Not written by me, written by a friend~

“You didn’t answer my question!”

“And you’re not walking, the house is. We’re going to continue your training. You’ve been slacking.”

“… Huh? What, no I haven’t!” She’d done her routines, ate well, and-

“…” She stared. “… D.. Disciple?”

“… Then why, enlighten me.” She mocked. “I’d love to hear it…”

… If he’d decided to do what he did sooner… Tsuneko’s brow furrowed.

“… Huh? Why?”

“Well, it’s just to be kind… It’s been so long… And… They’re gonna be mad I didn’t let the element go naturally and gave it to you, so I want to ease up their anger a bit…?”

“… You can find the gifts yourself.” She turned her nose before climbing back down.

“Hey- Come on, don’t leave me! I don’t know what gifts women like!”

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“You said I would have a disciple, what did you mean by that?” Tsuneko held the basket of goods Heishiro purchased as she sat next to him.

“… It sounds kind of sloppy.”

“It is.”

“… Then why do it like that?”

“If you have a better idea, I’d love to hear it.”

“…” … Fair.

“… What do you mean physical body- Isn’t the spirit world death?”

“Hm… You all really have been ignorant. No, the body dies, then the spirit dies, then they go into the afterlife.”

“… Hm…” So confusing…

He then poked her cheek.

Tsuneko let herself nod. That all made sense… When he wasn’t being a jerk, he could show a relatively master-like side of himself show. Now only if he could let it stick.

“What about the other two?”

“Hm?” He glanced over.

“What are their powers…? Actually, no, just tell me about them in general, if you can.”

“… One of them is literally going to die really soon, are you sure you wanna waste- Ah, stop glaring, just a joke! Eesh… Ok, which first?”

“… Fire, then.”

“… She sounds nice. Still, she sounds young, why would she want to die?”

“… I will? How do I ‘choose’?”

“… I suppose, yeah.” … She’d take his word for it and hope she didn’t wake up like he said. “Oh- Water now, right?”

“… What’s her power?”

“… Hm… Alright… What did you buy them anyway?”

“Yeah, nice try. I’m not gonna let you take credit for it.”

“Mn!”

------------------------------

They finally stopped at a small village, one that felt quite familiar to Tsuneko. It was much like her own, a tiny farming village just making due with what they had… Quite nostalgic.

“… Feels more like you’re tossing me to the wolves…”

“Partially.” He smiled.

“Alright, ready?”

“Nishimura! Sawaya! It’s so good to see you!” Heishiro walked in, moving to hug them. They remained kneeling, looking right past him.

“… Who’s the kid?” Nishimura spoke up first… She sounded less like a sweetheart and more of a thug. “You were s’posed to bring Gentoka. And I doubt he’s in the basket.”

As she spoke, Sawaya quietly unraveled and put a nearby blanket under the table that separated the two, and a pillow on top.

“… Heh…” Heishiro scratched his cheek. “Want the bandage ripped of slowly or quickly?”

“Heishiro…” She growled.

“Now, Tsuneko, why don’t you wait outside, uh, go look around!”

“Oh no you don’t, kid, st-“

“Have fun!” Heishiro then pushed her out the door, locking it behind. Tsuneko could already hear the screaming match behind the door…

She’d just… leave the basket by the door and go do what he said…

------------------------------

… Guess Heishiro covered for her in that aspect.

“… Right. Well, I like stories… I enjoy farming- Uhm, the harvesting part, not the planting. Gardening, swimming…”

“You like gardening, but not planting? Why is that?” More questions…

“Erm… I just… Don’t, heh… I guess I like to maintain what’s already there, rather than try to do something new… it’s complicated.” She gave a nervous giggle. Sawaya just smiled.

“And stories… What kind?”

“I think it’s wonderful you have such a passion. Many enjoy stories, but it takes a special someone to make something worthy and beloved enough to start being passed on.”

“Ah… Thank you…” … Her face felt warm. “… Heishiro said you all would be mad, but you seem fairly calm.” Another light laugh.

… Yeah, she jinxed it.

“Hehe… Riiight… Uh, speaking of dying, should we head back? Nishimura seemed… really upset.”

“Oh, her? She’s a big softie, he’ll be fine… But we should head back, yes, before it gets late. Come, follow~” She stood, walking ahead.

… Let’s hope Nishimura wasn’t as bad.

------------------------------

To say things were tense was an understatement.

Sawaya giggled, starting to pour them each tea.

“Let’s all relax, ok?” She offered. “Just because you’re going to move on to the spirit world soon doesn’t mean you’re allowed to leave a bad impression before you do…”

Mn… It wasn’t even her fault and she was feeling guilt.

“I already told you, if we just waited for Gentoka to do what he wanted to, more damage would be done… It’s better to give the power to someone I know can be trusted-“

“It’s better to let it go and let it choose a suitable wielder.”

“Like you’re doing?”

Her eyes snapped back to Heishiro, who was doing his best to keep his eyes on her.

“… I apologize for being rash with my decision, but not for who I chose… I’m not a child any longer. Gentoka is gone, and you will be too. I’ll be the second oldest out of all of us.”

She looked as if she was about to counter, but Sawaya interrupted.

“… Impress… huh?” The brash Kitsune seemed confused, as did Heishiro, who took the chance to sip his tea to try and hide the fact.

“Shaddup!” She barked, snapping her head over.

“… You cried?” Heishiro spoke up. He sounded so meek.

“… No, I didn’t cry…” Nishimura huffed, sipping from her tea as she kept her eyes averted from him. “I just… Had allergies, for a while.”

“Hehe, allergies, I see…” Sawaya hummed. “… And Heishiro, you should be more apologetic…”

“Huh? Me? Weren’t you just defending-“ He was interrupted.

They were both quiet, before Nishimura sniffled, taking the handkerchief to wipe her face.

Heishiro didn’t seem to fare much better, making all manner of facial expressions to keep tears from flowing.

“… I know, and… I’m really sorry. You did a great job as a parent, I dunno how I became such a brat…” That earned a weak smile from Nishimura.

“That part’s on your parents. They gave me crap, I just had to work with it.” Heishiro let himself grin in response.

“I wouldn’t speak too bad about them… You’re about to go see them… That, and Gentoka too.”

“… Tsuneko, right?” Tsuneko just nodded.

“Ah, yes… I mean, yes ma’am-“

“Ah, shaddup, or I’ll punch you. Don’t call me ma’am, I’ll feel old… well, older. Guess this is a pretty garbage first impression. Can you meditate?”

“… Not like Heishiro, no.”

“If you could, you’d force me to work until I learned to train in my sleep…” He muttered.

“… Heh, that’s a good idea, I should have done that sooner.”

She grabbed the basket from nearby, pouring the contents onto the table. Various sweets and bottles of alcohol.

“I’ve already got the villagers ready to bring us food until we pop, so consider this the appetizer! Eat up, you filth!”

… Hehe… Well, an odd family… But one she could feel happy with.

TO BE CONTINUED…?

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