Chapter 344
My expression collapsed once I got back to my bike and I let out a shaky breath. I leaned against the side of the vehicle and stared off toward the cloudy sky above. Should I have just killed him?
I stared down at my hands. He was my only blood family left in the world. That had to mean something, right? It didn’t mean I’d help him. Unless he decided to pull some shit, it did mean I wouldn’t kill him.
‘Sides… I didn’t think he actually killed my parents. If he did, then I wouldn’t hesitate to drop him off a building. Simply put, though, Kuzo was a massive fucking coward. He might’ve helped cover it up, sure, but the chances of him actually putting out a hit were low. “Thanks for the help, Luna.”
”N-no problem… Do you need anything else?” For sounding so nervous most of the time, her voice had a certain reassurance to it that made me feel significantly better.
“Uh, no. I just need to run the contract by the Fang.” They’ll take care of the rest of it, and hopefully have a better contract for me this time. Otherwise… Well, I’d probably have to find an actual lawyer at some point once I had some more rayn. “That can wait till tomorrow though.”
“I-isn’t this the kinda thing you should take care of as soon as possible?” Luna pulled up a live feed of Kuzo back in the apartment into my HUD. I’d left my Dragonflies to keep a watch over him just in case. The man was flopped over the bar, and several bottles down already. “H-he might try something.”
”I’ve got some other things to do today. Besides, Kuzo’s too much of a coward to try anything.” Not when I held all the leverage, anyway. He was the kind of guy that wouldn’t chance his life for anything. Made him predictable. “You find anything on Kaynis yet?”
”N-not even a whisper. I’m tracing all sorts of stuff, but it's like he f-fell off the face of the planet.” Luna’ voice faded into a worried whisper.
”We’ll find him… you think it was premeditated or just the wrong place at the wrong time?” Usually, I would just assume the wrong place at the wrong time. The battlefield had been far too clean though, like whoever snagged him knew exactly what to bring and prepare.
”P-premeditated. O-otherwise, why would they be down there? There’s easier places to snatch a citizen.” Luna sighed. “And if it w-was…”
”If it was?”
Luna didn’t speak for several long moments. When she did, her voice was filled with equal parts fear and anxiety. ”I-I might have some ideas. I-I’ll have to check though… Y-you said you’d help no matter what, right?”
“Chek. If I can, I will.” As long as it wasn’t going up against BosSpace or something. Only an idiot would do that. Millions of rayn bounties and completely shutting off assets were just the tip of the iceberg for the mega corp.
“R-right. I’m- I’m going to get back to it.” Luna sighed and the camera feed on my HUD blinked out.
“Good luck.” I pushed off from my bike and took a deep breath. The city’s familiar toxic mix of air stung my lungs like it usually did. Although things were changing, some things still stayed the same.
I hopped onto my bike and hit several switches and buttons. The engine sputtered to life and fell into a constant low hum. I leaned back while I waited for it to warm up and stared at the tall towers all around me.
Change, huh… If I was honest, such a thing terrified me. Of course, I knew change was good logically. Stagnant water couldn’t compare to flowing water. It’s just… Well, stagnant water was predictable and safe. It was easy to plan and scheme around.
I shook my head and let the hoverbike glide into the air. I could think about it later. For now, I had places to be.
——
An intense bout of vertigo surged through me. Ups became downs, and left merged into center in a conflicting mess of sensations. Nausea followed it down almost immediately afterward, though the clean air helped fight it back.
A surge of warm fur pressed into my side and supported me. Vulpes leaned over, acting as a temporary support at the entrance to Nine Peaks, Fox’s domain. “You okay, Shiro?”
“‘M good… just a little dizzy.” I shook my head and patted her side lightly as I got my bearings. I was back in Fox’s territory, surrounded by towering mountains that radiated a certain sense of purity.
A freezing chill speared through the place, drawing my attention to swirls of snow falling gently from the sky. They mounded up all over the place, mixing with the beautiful structures and flowering sakura to create a truly unique aesthetic.
Vulpes’s four tails wagged lightly behind her. They swirled around in streaks of red and white. “You usually travel without any issue, no?”
“Guess I’m just a little worn out recently.” I brushed back a stray lock of silver hair and looked around the peak.
Foxes were scattered all over the place still. They weren’t as chaotic as the first time I was here. Some glanced my way, but for the most part they just kept on keeping on like I was just another guest.
Off to the back, a large fox walked around a group of young kits bundled up in sweaters and hoodies that looked an awful lot like mine. Each of their snouts were scrunched up in concentration. Foxfire flowed from them, and the larger fox nitpicked and corrected them on occasion.
A two-tailed fox snoozed in a sakura tree that gently swayed in the wind. Err—the fox wasn’t so much in the tree as hanging from it. Both of its tails were wrapped around the branch, and the fox swung like a rope swing. A different fox had tied a paint can to the two-tailed one and was using it to create a painting of some kind.
“They’re a lot tamer than last time.” I stretched out and summoned Fox’s Fluffy Cloak, allowing the silver hoodie to wrap around me. It felt as incredibly warm and comfortable as it always did.
”My lady was…” Vulpes’s tails stilled and her fur rose slightly, though she continued to guide me forward. “Unhappy with your last visit.”
I paused mid step and stared up toward the massive palace pavilion at the top of the central peak. ”Did I do something wrong?”
“No, no… it just didn’t live up to her expectations. She loved every moment with you, of course.” Vulpes’s eye curled into half moons and her snout pulled back into a light grin. “She gathered all the sprites and gave a long, long lecture about appearances and impressions.”
That was ironic coming from the queen of messing up first impressions. I didn’t say such a thing aloud, of course. I still liked being alive. And it seemed the anti-scrying magic was still in place seeing as the fox in question didn’t appear before me. “Sorry.”
One of her tails gently brushed my hand. ”Nothing to apologize for. It was coming one way or another. My kin aren’t known for being… um… orderly.”
“Thats definitely one word for it.” My mind drifted back to the first time I stumbled into Fox’s shrine in Aythryn City. Specifically, to the absolute menaces that were the fox sprites. Watches, sandwiches, resting places—what didn’t they steal? “Does the other world’s weather affect this place?”
”No—ah, you’re talking about the snow, chek?” Vulpes twisted her head and stared up at the sky. “The weather in my ladies domain follows her will entirely… she just likes following the normal seasonal cycle.”
Off to the side of a large pavilion, several foxes gathered around a massive tree and hung what looked like paw-made ornaments. Some were as simple as paw prints of paint. Others were much more complicated, such as glass balls containing brilliant glowing foxfire.
Vulpes inclined her head and guided me up to the massive ornamental gates guarding the way up into the rest of the pavilion. A guardian fox in silver armor panted happily with his tail shaking rapidly at my approach. He was almost immediately bonked on the back of the head by another, more restrained guardian fox.
“Heh.” A light chuckle broke out of me, and both perked up. The one I thought was restrained immediately tackled the first and bonked him repeatedly like he was some kind of music box that could make me laugh.
”Ahem.” Vulpes coughed lightly.
”Yip!” They froze mid-bonk and darted back to their positions like nothing happened. Once more, they both put on that noble and grand air that guards usually had.
”Sorry about that.” Her eyes narrowed on the two foxes. “I see we may need to have another lecture.”
The two foxes shuddered and lowered their heads, staring at the paved entry way. The one that was originally super excited to see me seemed like he wanted to melt into the floor.
”It’s fine. I like seeing them as they are without all the pompous acting. It’s… it’s refreshing compared to the city.” I ruffled the cheerful one’s ears and moved on up the stairs. “No need to change on my account. ‘Sides, I’m just a human. It’s a little weird you guys are going so far.”
“Still…” Vulpes stopped just before the two gargantuan doors leading further into the pavilion. The guardian foxes pushed open the door, allowing us entry.
Unlike last time, there was no grand court or anything like that. Fox didn’t even bother with the throne. Instead, she was bundled up by a bonfire that had been built in the middle of the pavilion. She was surrounded by wadded up tissues and cups of steaming tea.
Fox looked up with extremely puffy eyes to the point it looked like she couldn’t even see through them. She sneezed cutely and moved closer to the bonfire. “Vulpie, you’re back… tell Shiro not to come in today.”
Vulpes froze right next to me. “Milady—“
One of Fox’s tails wrapped around a tissue and brought it up to her nose. She completely missed the tissue and just directly used her tail. ”I-if you’re going to lecture me again about catching a cold because I refused to make the weather warm again, save it. My head is killing me.”
“Milady, she’s already here…”
Fox froze and then did a double take toward us. Her puffy eyes squinted—“Ahhh!”
Insight and Aetherial Perception flashed in tandem as some magic wrapped around me. Another bout of vertigo hit just as hard as the last. In a split second, Vulpes and I were teleported back down the mountain. Not even to the entry point that I usually arrived at with the crystal, but down to the base of the massive mountain peak.
Insight flashed, but I could hardly tell my own directions, let alone where it was coming from. I stumbled and caught myself on a tree. Vulpes didn’t catch herself, slammed into my leg, and knocked us both to the snowy ground. “Ugh—I’m going to be sick.”
Vulpes recoiled away and scampered to the side. Without her pressing down on my stomach, I felt moderately better. Only moderately, though.
One of her tails flicked over and helped me stand up. “S-sorry about that… I wasn’t expecting milady to send us to the base of the mountain.”
I rubbed at my temples and leaned against a tree. “I wasn’t either… nor did I expect her to be sick.”
Could eidolons even get sick? How did that work? Sprites healed all injuries when returning to the Aether. I just naturally assumed they couldn't be hurt here, and by extension would never be sick. No, more accurately, I never even thought about sprites and sickness in the first place.
|Bear: Is my little Fox sick?! Why didn’t anybody tell me?!|
|Crow: Lol. Get rekt scrub Fox.|
|Bear: She probably got it from you, sticky claws. You were just—|
I felt a wash of magic flood over the mountain and expand toward us. Usually, I wouldn’t be able to recognize magic based on its feel. I still couldn’t. I could, however, recognize the interface shut down thanks to anti-scrying. It seemed like someone didn’t want me to see the rest of that conversation.
Vulpes straightened out and stared up the base of the mountain. “We have a long walk back.”
”No…” I stared up the mountain. No way, right? I’d surely miss my trainer once again at this rate.
Vulpes unfortunately didn’t offer any other words. She just started walking through the snow. I froze for several long moments and then trudged after her.