Before we left the old man stopped us and told us he had something for us. Hana’s arms were folded, she was still skeptical. Kira beamed up at him and I held off on my judgment. The man had been an enigma but he had helped me understand what was going on. He had even told me that the fourth treasure was to be found in Kyoto, after grumbling a bit and hinting very strongly that it belonged elsewhere originally.

The fourth treasure was a set of prayer beads, from a famous monk. I got the feeling he was very resentful about their origins but he did not explain further. I made a mental note to ask Hana if she had any ideas where our mystery man was from.

The old man petted Kira on the head and she purred. From his pocket, he dug out a ring that seemed to shine even in the gloomy skies. He informed Kira that it radiated and redirected light. For Hana, he gave a small metal cylinder. She looked unimpressed until he explained to her how to use it. He showed her that if she tapped it it would extend into a staff, and if she tapped it again it would retract.

He surveyed both the girls and I swore, for a moment, his lips upturned to a smile. Then he sniffed and looked off into the distance, addressing them. “I wish I had time to train you on the use of these, but your mission requires urgency, and I am… otherwise indisposed. In any case…” he turned to me and clapped my shoulder. “You have a good guardian with you. Yes, I know you are a guardian, young man. You treat these girls well, and you protect them.”

I nodded. “I will.”

***

I found myself missing the old man as we drove towards town and the train station to get our tickets to Kyoto. I wondered who exactly who he was. He knew so much about who I was, and the world of guardians and monks. It was a mystery we didn’t have time to solve.

I looked in the rearview mirror. The girls had both moved to the backseat where they were chattering about their new gifts. Hana seemed to forgive the old man’s rudeness as she inspected her staff. Kira was even more excited about her sparkly new ring. I smiled as I watched the two of them, and then my face hardened. They were weapons, not toys. The man gave them to us for a reason. We were headed to battle.

The train station was pretty empty and we quickly got our tickets sorted for the next train into Kyoto. The train would take us there overnight, eight hours. A novelty sleeper train but it was all that they had. I rang up Ryu’s card and said my apologies mentally. I was now looking at a lifetime of debt with my brother.

We bought a deck of cards from the convenience store and played on the floor of the train station. Kira particularly enjoyed any games that involved subversive elements so we taught her “cheat”. She was a terrible liar however and we caught her each time. It didn’t help that her tail kept wriggling under her shirt and her ears wiggling under her hat each time she did so. It was a pretty big tell.

The train didn’t board until nearly midnight and by that time we were all a little tired and even Kira, always energetic and excited, was bored. Once we boarded we got into our room with our bunks and the two girls passed out immediately. I tried to join them but couldn’t seem to stop my mind from racing. I tried to look out the window but it was pitch black. I sighed and carefully opened the door to our cabin and stepped out into the hallway.

It was dark out there also, only lit by emergency strip lighting on the floor. I looked down the hallway as it rattled along the tracks. There was no one else up. I had hoped to find an attendant, maybe get a beer or anything to calm the nerves. I looked for any indication where a food cart or bar might be but there were no signs displaying any infographics. I picked a direction at random, heading in the direction opposite of which we were going.

The train was moving deceptively fast. It wasn’t anything compared to the bullet train, but for an old wooden antique it was really rattling along and I had to brace myself as I walked forward. I looked into the windows of the cabins as I passed. Little vignettes of life peered out at me. Families sleeping, reading together, relaxing. It all seemed idyllic. Peaceful. I thought of Fenra, how content our summer together had been. And now that was all torn apart. I was happy to have a new addition to our life, but I would never forget what this was all about.

I pressed a button and the door to the next train car slid open. For a brief moment, the night air hit me through the open bottom between cars and I breathed a sigh, then I stepped over into the next car and the door closed behind me. Immediately a strange sensation filled me as I entered this car. All the lights were off in each cabin save for a room down at the end of the hall. I slowed my breathing, preparing myself to enter my guardian state if need be, and strode confidently down the hall.

When I rounded the corner, expecting to see a demon or enemy, I was surprised to find only the huddled-up form of a woman on the bottom of her bunk. As soon as I entered the doorframe of her room she raised her head and sat up, sniffling and wiping her eyes, clearly embarrassed I had caught her in this private moment.

She had long blonde hair and blue eyes, a petite but shapely form. She was wearing a pink nightgown that left little to the imagination. She tilted her head and looked up at me, still sniffing. “Oh gosh, I’m sorry mister… did I wake you up? I tried to be quiet and wait but… it's just so awful…” she whimpered. Then she burst into tears once more. I entered the room fully and the door closed behind me. I fumbled in my pockets for a tissue or handkerchief but had none.

I cursed myself at that, I remember grandfather always kept one. A smart move. Never knew when you’d need to comfort a lady he’d said. That had seemed old-fashioned, perhaps even anachronistic, but right about now it was quite accurate. “Should I get… someone? Did something happen?” I asked, looking around for any signs of struggle.

The lady shook her head and then did the unexpected. She rose to her feet, took two stumbling steps toward me, and then embraced me in a desperate hug, burying her tear-stricken face into my chest.  Her body was surprisingly warm and soft. I felt the swell of her breasts against me and her long blonde hair smelled of strawberries. I found myself hugging her back and heard her sigh as she snuggled into the crook of my neck.

What is going on? I asked myself. Nothing, just comforting a stranger, it's okay.

The lady straightened her body and looked up at me, her blue eyes shimmering. “Thank you, I needed that. Truly.”

I was mesmerized by those beautiful eyes, rooted in place. She ran her fingers from her cheeks down to her chest, tracing them along the plunging neckline of her nightgown. I noticed her pale freckled chest, and ample cleavage as the robe slipped lower. I gulped. I backed up a step but her body clung to mine.

Her lips quivered. “Please, stay with me, stay near me. Protect me.”

“I… I… protect you from what?” I asked finally shaking myself out of the sexual reverie she had put over me.

“From the dark,” she whispered into my ear with hot breath. Then the cabin lights shut off and plunged us into blackness. Her supple form moved with grace and firmness, no longer the unsure woman, pressing me back against the now closed door. There was nowhere for me to go. She grabbed my wrists, she was surprisingly strong. She pulled my hands around her waist and then ran them up her backside. It was firm. Soft.

I pulled away and she giggled.

“Shy?” she asked.

Her voice sounded different and my head felt foggy. This was wrong, all wrong. Why had I come into this room? What was I doing here?

“It’s time,” the voice whispered again, closer. I saw two green fiery eyes and tried to back away but I was stuck. She kissed me and the world melted away.

***

We were back home, in Kitayashi. This was my room by the temple. I stood in front of the bed, the strong scent of strawberries in the air. There, dressed in her silky white Kimono, was Kira. No hat hid her fluffy white ears and her tail was free and wagging in lazy circles behind her. She mewled and licked her lips, giving me a sultry look. “Are you coming to bed master? I’ve been waiting for you.”

Her voice was oozing with innuendo. I felt myself grow immediately aroused. I noticed I was in my black robes, sword at my side. Why? Why was I in this form? There was a hint of a clue and I tried to follow the thread, but something was off.

“Come master, I need you,” came the cat spirit’s sexy tone. I heard the rustling of silk and saw that her robe had slipped down revealing her pale naked shoulders, clinging only barely to the tips of her breasts. I dry swallowed. I was standing fully to attention beneath my robe. Her shining yellow eyes beamed at me and her pink tongue licked her lips. “Come,” she said one more time, and I obeyed.

I approached the bed, my heart pounding and she crawled to the edge of it, giving me a view of her pendulous breasts swinging before she knelt once more, covering up. She looked up at me and I down at her. She ran her hands up my legs and rested them on the knot that held my robe together. And then she pulled with all her strength, the knot coming undone and my robe swinging open.

I was naked beneath and my manhood sprung free. Kira cooed in appreciation at the size of me, grasping my member in her hands. Her tail wagged back and forth and she excitedly followed its movements from side to side. She pawed at me gently and giggled as I sprung up and down.

“Careful it's not a chew toy,” I remarked.

Her ears flattened and she folded her arms across her chest. “I know that master! I know what to do, okay? Hana told me how!”

Hana… really? Where was she? Once more the creeping feeling that something was wrong took hold of me but I forgot all about it as Kira opened wide and took the whole of me in her wet and waiting mouth.

“Oh god,” I cried as she slowly slid down the length of me, her pretty pink tongue swirling around my shaft. It felt incredible. I looked down at her and she had her eyes closed, focusing hard on the task at hand. Finally, she came up for air gasping and wiping her mouth. “Was it… good… master?” she asked.

“Fantastic,” I breathed.

She leaned over to take me once again but I pushed her back by the shoulders. She cocked her head and meowed inquisitively, as if confused. “It’s good, I promise. But I want more. I want you.”

Kira blushed and grinned. “I want you too.” She slowly pulled the robe back from her shoulders, revealing her pale white naked body. I took off my robe and pushed her gently onto the bed, She gasped and held me close. I could see she was blushing, for all her excitement she was nervous.

“Go slow, okay?” She breathed.

I nodded and started with a simple kiss, her soft lips melting into mine, her hands traveling up my stomach to rest on my chest as she began to moan into me, her hips grinding upwards.

“I’m ready,” she said shyly. “Down there… I’m… wet… for you.”

I traced my fingertips down her firm stomach to her exposed pussy and felt along the bare slit. It was sopping. She trembled and gasped at my touch and then groaned and held me close as I probed her with a finger.

“Oooh!” she cried.

I began to massage her clit as I fingered her gently and she rocked back and forth, her body shivering. And then she stopped me. “Oh god, master, it's so good but… but… I want you! I want to cum with you. Together. Inside of me.”

I gripped her tiny waist in my hands and gently teased the entrance of her bare pussy with the head of my cock she squirmed and gasped, reaching down and guiding me into her.

“More…please,” she gasped.

I slid into her with little resistance and she moaned, her mouth open wide and displaying her small fanged teeth as I inched deeper into her waiting pussy. Her legs wrapped around me, pulling me deeper until I was buried completely. She trembled and her head rolled back into the pillow. “It's so big… I’m so full... God, it feels amazing!”

I grunted in agreement, she was so tight yet wet, it felt incredible. I began to inch out of her slowly pulling out and then setting a slow rhythm, fucking her gently as her small body clung to me.

She gripped me with sharp nails. “Faster,” she commanded, “Deeper.”

I sped up as her hips rose to meet my thrusts. There was no pretense, no more foreplay, pure animalistic lust took over us both. I felt power wash over me and I could feel her spirit melding with my own. I knew that we were becoming one. I was going faster and faster, sweat dripping down my forehead. She pulled me close for a hungry sloppy kiss, her tongue nimbly exploring my mouth.

I moaned as she bucked and writhed as we reached a frenzied pace. Waves of electric pleasure radiated from our bodies. I could no longer tell where I ended and she began. I was losing myself in her soft undulating form. I was going to cum. I felt her shiver, shake, and buck. She wanted it too. She needed it.

“Cum, oh god, fill me up, master… Do it… do it!” Her yellow eyes shone, and her body glowed. I came in great big spurts, emptying myself into her as she cried out in pure ecstasy.

The world dissolved into technicolor, fireworks, and fractals, the end of everything. A loud series of bangs and cracks echoed around us and the room shattered and dissolved into space. There was only me in her, in blankness.

She kissed my lips softly and smiled. “We are one, my guardian.”