After dinner, washed and refreshed, Eitsu held up her end of the bargain.

Her new benefactor had soft white skin that reddened easily under her rough tongue and fingers. Eitsu expertly licked her all over, from the tips of her ears to her neck and breasts, down her stomach until she was between her legs. The woman tightened her fingers in Eitsu's hair, running her nails over her scalp again and again as she gasped and wriggled, occasionally letting out small squeaks of shock and delight that sped up until she reached the point of spasm. Then Eitsu nipped at her upper thighs gently with her sharp teeth until she begged the young woman to stop teasing her.

Already shivering and panting, she handed Eitsu a far superior piece of equipment than the previous benefactor had owned. It was an elegant tortoiseshell tagaigata¹互形 (tagaigata) - it's another dildo ¯\_(ツ)_/¯but double-ended this time :), that passed Eitsu's critical inspection. She rocked up onto her knees, using the other woman's fluids to assist her in taking in the smooth length, drawing a sharp breath as she did. Holding tight, she spread the other woman's legs, and the latter gazed up at her, almost cross-eyed, in anticipation.

"Ready?"

A breathless nod. She slid in, gently at first, but when the other woman's nails dug into her upper thigh, she hissed and began to move mercilessly, driving bright cries out of the woman whose legs she pinned between her own. Eitsu let her own fingers creep downwards at the same time, while her free fingers pinched and flicked the sensitive nipples of the other woman, her pushing growing wilder as she rubbed until she came too, the two of them locked tightly together and trembling. They lay like this until Eitsu gathered herself enough to carefully pull away, shuddering as she did. The other woman's breath stuttered as though she were about to pass out.

"How skilled," she finally managed to say, with a little laugh. Eitsu helped readjust her robe and lifted her to a sitting position.

"I can keep going."

"I'm satisfied. For now. You've... definitely held up your end of the deal. I'll have papers with your name on them tomorrow. What's your family name?"

"Kyuo," Eitsu decided haphazardly. It was the name of the family who had owned her mother. Why not.

"Kyuo, as in...'Rest' and 'King'?"

“I suppose?” Eitsu yawned and flopped down.

"'Rest'? I suppose you do like your sleep. And 'king'... well, after that performance..."

Eitsu favoured her with a cheeky smile.

The new mistress was as good as her word. Early the next day, Eitsu had in her hands identity papers that named her as Kyuo Eitsu, and when her mistress sent her out to play, she headed straight for the theatre.

A different guard stood at the door, and he examined the papers suspiciously, but could find nothing wrong with them and eventually let Eitsu in.

Slipping between the patrons already seated, she found a spot for herself and settled down in the darkness to wait.

The stage lights, red, dim, were lit to a rush of enthusiastic applause by the audience. Under strings of lanterns, a figure lightly stepped out.

A whisper of fabric, a flick of a folding fan, the first notes of a plucked koto²箏 (koto) - a stringed instrument.... Tsubaki emerged from the darkness, turning gracefully to reveal an exquisitely made-up face, completely neutral of expression.

Every movement was perfectly controlled. The audience watched breathlessly as the dancer flicked her sleeves, pointed the closed fan, stepped, stepped, stepped, the red light of the lanterns transforming the single revealed sleeve of her golden inner kimono to a bloody sheen, her white outer kimono tinged pink, bleeding into a hem of red camellias. She played the character of a desolate girl, hiding her eyes, reaching out hopelessly, turning away.

Eitsu was impressed, but otherwise indifferent. The girl was pretty, well, supremely beautiful, and was an excellent performer as everyone said, but what concerned Eitsu most about other people was whether they could feed her and give her a place to sleep. A famous dancer could possibly have a fair amount of money, but they were constantly moving around and drawing drama, and that wasn't conducive to the comfortable life that Eitsu wanted. Tsubaki executed a perfect turn, flashing the red butterfly knot hanging at her back, and Eitsu felt her mind wander. She wondered what would be served for dinner that night.

She fell asleep.

The performance ended, and the audience excitedly conversed about the performance they had just seen. Their chatter woke Eitsu, who decided to take advantage of the break between performances to take her leave. As she made her way towards the entrance, a large shadow blocked her way.

"Kyuo Eitsu?"

Ugh. This was more trouble than it was worth. I knew I should have stayed in bed.

"Come with me."

"Do I have a choice?"

No response. The other audience members watched curiously as Eitsu was chaperoned... no, marched, in the direction of the backstage rooms.

---

"Please take a seat, Kyuo-dono³殿 (-dono) - a respectful suffix indicating someone with high rank and worthy of respect.."

Eitsu cast a glance at the hulking man behind her, then at the girl across the table from her, and sat.

Tsubaki sat too, as controlled and graceful as she had been on stage. Her make-up had been removed, revealing an almost ethereally beautiful, if cold, face, framed by long and silky black hair. She waved a hand at the guard to leave them, waiting until the heavy footsteps had died away before speaking again, with a voice as light as her movements.

"Thank you for giving me some of your time, Kyuo-dono-"

"I hardly had a choice."

"You always have a choice." There was a faint stress in the performer's words that made Eitsu's ears twitch.

"So you do know me."

"Yes... I believe I do. Bring in the food, please."

These last words, directed towards the entrance to the room, prompted the appearance of several serving girls bearing plates of food. They looked awed and excited in Tsubaki's presence, but lingered only long enough to deliver the food and disappeared again.

"Please, eat first. We will talk afterwards."

Eitsu's eyes roamed the table. A bowl of miso soup, heavily flavoured with bonito, had been placed near her right hand. Mackerel sashimi to her left, and a plate of grilled eel on a bed of rice directly before her. It all smelt amazing, and familiar. She ate eagerly, choosing to use a spoon over chopsticks. The dancer watched with her hands folded demurely within her sleeves, not even pretending that she was doing otherwise.

When Eitsu had scraped the last bowl clean, the performer let out a little sigh.

"It really is... Do you know me, Eitsu-sama⁴様 (-sama) - a respectful suffix that can be used in relation to a variety of types of people, including customers, guests, and divine beings.?"

"Not personally? Why, would you like me to get to know you?"

The other woman let out a strange sound, and it was unclear whether she was choking, or laughing, as she quickly muffled it with her sleeve. She recovered herself, her beautiful face controlled. "Then what I will tell you will likely sound... confusing. Strange. Unlikely." The dancer looked as though she were choosing her words carefully. "Eitsu-sama... you are a supernatural cat, a kaibyou⁵かいびょう (kaibyou) "strange cat"., correct?"

Eitsu hummed, fastidiously cleaning her face and hands with a scented towel that the serving girls had left. "And if I am?"

"You know the saying, 'Cats have nine lives'?"

"Mm...?" Eitsu yawned, showing sharp teeth.

"This is not your first life, Eitsu-sama."

Eitsu scratched her neck thoughtfully. "I see."

"You must be very young. At this age, you have almost no memories of your past lives."

"Do I need to?"

Tsubaki made a complicated expression. It couldn't quite be called a smile - there was too much bitterness there. "I suppose not."

Well, this would make sense. That would explain the strange thoughts she would have, as if remembering something she had learnt a long time ago, despite the fact that she was technically little over a year old.

"So what is it you want?" Eitsu stretched. "Is this blackmail? Or do you want bragging rights for knowing a kaibyou? Or maybe an exotic bedmate?"

Tsubaki's expression was frozen. The fabric of her sleeves shifted, and Eitsu thought that perhaps she was clenching her fists.

"Are you angry?"

The other woman shook her head lightly and loosened her fingers. "Well, if it suits you to think that way... I will take whatever means I can get to keep you by my side."

"Is this a confession?" Eitsu asked teasingly. She leaned forward on one arm, golden eyes sparkling, her dark hair, tied in a short, low ponytail, slipping on her shoulder.

Tsubaki met her eyes emotionlessly. "How old are you? A little more than a year?"

"You shouldn't ask a lady her age."

"You're not a lady."

Eitsu laughed, amused by the prickles on this cold young woman. "So you want me to follow you around like a little dog? Can you afford me?"

"I might be a dancer, but I am also a wealthy woman, Kyuo-dono. I assure you that you will live in absolute luxury. You will be able to sleep and eat as much as you want, and should boredom overtake you, I will not curb your freedom, on the understanding that you will return at least once a day to me.

"Also, you are a cat, not a dog."

"And what do you get out of this?"

The dancer shrugged. "Peace of mind."

A sudden thought seemed to strike Eitsu. "Am I a criminal?"

"... Excuse me?"

"Are you some kind of undercover law officer, who has to keep an eye on me?"

"... I forgot how wild your imagination was."

"So you're not going to tell me why."

"It's better that way."

"Then I can't agree."

They stared at each other for a moment, golden eyes into dark brown ones. Eitsu caught a faint whiff of something sweet and floral, and she narrowed her eyes.

Eitsu stood -

"Wait-"

- and transformed into her cat-self.

Tsubaki eyed her coldly. Eitsu extracted herself from the pool of clothing she had worn as a human and hopped onto the table, padding up to Tsubaki.

"Black this time," the dancer murmured.

Without warning, Eitsu turned back into humanoid form. Tsubaki barely flinched.

"Huh. I've done this before, haven't I?"

"Yes."

"Do I look different?"

Tsubaki's eyes shook faintly. "Yes."

"How?"

"Last time... you were bigger."

"Which bit?"

The dancer threw her an unamused look. "Everything.'

Eitsu laughed and hopped off the table to sit beside her.

"Last time, huh? What about the time before that?"

"You... were..."

"What?"

"Well. Magnificent."

"What? What does that mean? And am I not magnificent now?"

"Not in the slightest. And the time before that, you were very scrawny."

Eitsu was creeping closer and closer with each question and answer.

"And the time before that?"

Her breath was in Tsubaki's ear. She could feel Tsubaki's shoulder pressed against her bare chest. Tsubaki absently raised a hand, but dropped it quickly.

"Enough."

"At least three incarnations, " she murmured into Tsubaki's scented hair. "You've known me over three lives?"

The dancer turned abruptly away, a rare look of chagrin on her face. Eitsu somehow felt excited seeing this reaction.

I really want to toy with her.

"What's wrong, Tsubaki-san~?" She followed the dancer's movement closely so she could continue whispering in her ear.

WHACK!

Eitsu practically backflipped away as Tsubaki slapped down squarely on her nose with her hand. Clutching her sore face, she stared at Tsubaki in surprise as the dancer stood over Eitsu with a cold little smile on her beautiful face.

"You're really not much more than a year old now, are you?"

"Uh... A year and a month, maybe?"

"Typical. Grow up quickly, I forgot how annoying you are at this age."

“Yes, lady,” Eitsu said sarcastically.

Tsubaki shifted uncomfortably. "I know you are a very independent and capable person. However, I can provide you with a comfortable life, where you will want for nothing. If I can do something for you, for you to stay with me, name it."

Eitsu carefully cleaned her hands and face, taking her time. Tsubaki waited patiently.

"There is something you can do for me."

"Yes?"

"You knew me in previous lives, right?"

"..."

"Tell me, how did I die each time?"