Shyuurin

NSFW

Her hand hovered.

She peeked out at Tsubaki again. The dancer hadn't moved, other than the regular in and out of her breath.

One more life. Just one more. She had to find out why...

She transformed back into her cat form. Her senses, already sharp as a human, increased more than tenfold. She could hear people walking along the unseen road, could faintly smell the camellia oil that Tsubaki combed through her hair.

Crickets chirruping in the grass, the cry of some bird in the distance. Nothing out of the ordinary.

Still a little wary, she turned to the fawn-coloured pelt and pressed her nose to it.

"Ueki¹植木 (Ueki) - 'planted tree'.-dono, you have such a cute little daughter. And who is this?"

"This is Shika!"

"Shika-san, nice to meet you."

The man sitting opposite them was dark and handsome. His long fringe was a strange reddish-brown, and he wore black clothes that covered his neck and his hands.

He's the same as me, Eitsu thought. His light brown eye met her gold ones. She could see the fox beneath the human mask. It hid behind nine luxurious white tails, with only his ears and a single eye peeping out.

Why are you hiding, handsome fox?

"How lovely. Would I be able to hold her?"

The little girl who held Eitsu suddenly looked doubtful. "She's mine, oniisan."

"Ino²惟乃 (Ino) - made of 'thought'/'deliberation' and 'for this reason' or the possessive particle.! Rei-sama, I apologise for my daughter-"

"Not at all, not at all. If I had such a lovely kitten, I would be reluctant to give her to anyone myself." He smiled at Eitsu with a strange familiarity.

Ino held her tightly. "She's mine," she repeated stubbornly. Her lower lip began to quiver.

"Ino, go outside and play. I'll convince her later, Rei-sama. I apologise again."

"No, I truly understand. Bye Ino-chan. Bye E- Shika-san."

Ino hurried outside, although Eitsu twisted in her arms and stared at Rei for as long as she could see him. The door slid shut.

"Shika is mine," the little girl sniffed and rubbed her eyes, just about managing to hold on to Eitsu with one arm. "That man wanted to take Shika away."

Eitsu licked the child's face with her rough tongue and purred loudly. Ino clung tighter.

"He can't have you. I don't care how important Tou-san says he is. Let's hide until he goes away."

Ino crept under the house, half a mind on her steadily dirtying clothes, but a stubborn grimace on her face that indicated she was prepared to wear the consequences. It was dark under the house, but they could hear Ino's father and Rei through the floorboards.

"That's a kind offer, Rei-sama. You'll excuse me... what exactly will you be getting out of this?"

"All I ask is to be able to visit every now and then. The air here is soothing. And your daughter's little cat is very precious. I love cats, but due to my circumstances I have not been able to own one."

"I see... Ino is only six years old."

"Yes? It's the perfect age, is it not?"

"Perfect...?"

"To begin studying?"

"Ah... yes... well, I will speak with my wife, and Ino herself. It is very kind of you to make this offer, as I said, but you'll understand, we are doing quite well..."

"Of course, you don't need charity."

"What's going on, Shika?" Ino whispered. "What does he want to do with me? Is it because I wouldn't let him have you?"

Eitsu didn't answer. There was a crack in the floorboards just large enough for her to see through, and Rei's eye was locked directly on hers. 

The offer, whatever it was, seemed to have been turned down. Nothing changed in the Ueki household over the next few months, other than Rei's frequent visits. He always asked to see Shika, and Ino continued to refuse until her father snapped at her.

"Ino! Give the cat to me!"

"Tou-san!"

"Now!"

Wailing bitterly, Ino handed Eitsu over and fled the room. Eitsu yowled too, adding to the cacophony. A pair of strong hands took her body, cutting the yowls short.

"She seems to like you," Ino's father said, sighing. Rei didn't seem to notice. He held Eitsu close, running his long-fingered hands over her head, behind her ears, under her chin, down her spine. She was melting under his touch. A faint scent of pine seemed to cling to him, and something else, similar to tea.

He rubbed her feet, thumb lingering over the paw pads. His one visible eye seemed misty.

"... Rei-sama?" The Ueki Head was a little startled by the angry look that Rei flashed at him. But it was gone in a split second, Rei smoothing his expression with such speed that the man thought he had imagined thing.

"Hm?"

"You truly do like cats."

"Yes?"

"Unfortunately you will have to fight for her affections with my daughter. Ino is practically glued to that cat."

"Ah, I'm not worried about your daughter." He glanced back down at Eitsu, helplessly purring against his broad chest. "Rather... Ueki-dono, I hear you're sponsoring a dancer?"

"Ah, yes, she's a little old to be starting, but she's got a certain charm, you know? I believe that in spite of her late start, she'll be an exceptional performer."

"Where did this amazing person spring from?"

"No one's entirely sure. She just turned up in town one day and begged to be allowed to join the Hanami³花見 (Hanami) - 'flower viewing'. A Japanese tradition of watching spring blossoms, usually associated with having a picnic. Group. The manager turned her away at first, but she began to busk in the street, and it turns out she was actually very good. What could he do but hire her?"

"She's brave."

"She's also very lucky. A few dancers had left recently due to injury, or got married, so there was space for more performers. And they would have left town already had it not been for the manager's hangover."

Eitsu lay in a fog of pleasure and absolute relaxation. Their words meant nothing to her.

"The dancer's name?"

"Tsubaki. If you stay long enough today, you will be able to meet her."

"I like the sound of that. Thank you, Ueki-dono."

The dancer arrived not long after. The difference in Ino's reception of her as opposed to Rei was like night and day. She seized the dancer's sleeve and escorted her proudly to her father, chattering incessantly. 

Tsubaki removed her hat and veil. 

A lovely face emerged from below, a little light makeup serving to enhance her dark eyes and balanced features. Bowing low to everyone present, her long and silken black hair flowed off her shoulders.

"Tsubaki-san, come and meet Rei-sama."

A little crease appeared between her eyebrows at the sight of the handsome man holding the cat. Eitsu twitched drowsily. It seemed to her that she could see three little white butterflies flickering above her. One settled on her nose.

"Tsubaki-san, I've heard so much about you." Rei stood and bowed. Tsubaki bowed again in response.

"Rei-sama... this may sound strange, but... have we met before?"

The head of the Ueki Family laughed. "Your charms are working again, Rei-sama? How many has it been now?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Rei responded with a small smile. Tsubaki's pretty face pinched. It emphasised a coldness in her eyes that had so far been masked by her sweet expression.

"I am speaking with whole-hearted sincerity, my lords. Rei-sama, you seem familiar. Have we met before?"

"Not that I am aware of, Tsubaki-san."

"Then, it is my mistake." Her eyes drifted down to Eitsu, and she blurted out: "That cat..."

"She's mine!" Ino burst in excitedly. "Her name's Shika! Do you want to hold her?"

"... may I?"

"Tsubaki-san, you don't have to play along with her little games.

"Not at all. I too like cats. I would like to meet Shika."

Ino marched over to Rei. "Give."

"Ino! Your manners!"

Rei laughed and handed the cat over, although not without a little tweak to her ear. Eitsu let out a little squeak that made Tsubaki flinch. Ino eagerly hurried back to the dancer and held Eitsu aloft.

"Here!"

Tsubaki took the cat.

As if emerging from a fog, Eitsu felt her head clear. A new scent enveloped her now, faint and sweet. She stood up on her back legs in Tsubaki's arms and sniffed at her hair, her whisker's tickling the dancer's ear.

"Tsubaki-dono, are you okay?" Ino's little face peered up anxiously. "You're crying."

Tsubaki hastily dabbed at her eyes. "I'm okay! Um... Shika, was it? Shika-chan is very lovely." Her hands held Eitsu tightly. The cat licked her cheek.

"She likes you!" Ino exclaimed delightedly. Eitsu continued the performance by leaping up onto Tsubaki's shoulders and settling down there, tucked into her hair. Ino was practically hopping with excitement.

"I should get going," Rei announced, standing gracefully. He bowed to everyone present. "I enjoyed myself. It was good to finally meet you, Tsubaki-san."

"It was a pleasure to meet you too, Rei-sama." Tsubaki tried to bow, but Eitsu's presence on her shoulders made her wobble. Rei laughed. His canine teeth were sharp.

"Until next time."

And he was gone. The Ueki patriarch shook his head and gave Tsubaki a meaningful look. "Like a kitsune, that one."

"What do you mean, Tou-san?"

"Uh... well... Kitsune are very good at running away! I'm just referring to how quickly he always leaves... Don't speak of this to Rei-sama, you understand?"

"Yes, Tou-san."

As the father lectured the daughter, Tsubaki inobtrusively turned her had to the side, so she could whisper to the cat on her shoulders in a voice so quiet that only a cat could hear.

"Eitsu... Eitsu..."

Eitsu let her claws slip out a little and dig at Tsubaki's shoulder. The dancer didn't even flinch, merely kept murmuring "Eitsu, Eitsu" over and over.

How do you know my name?

The transformation happened a month later. 

The house was quiet in the cold night, still a few hours from dawn. Eitsu, new in her human form, stood naked and shivering in the yard. Her curiosity had driven her to transform despite the temperature, and now she was regretting the experience.

"Cold?" A low voice wrapped around her like a fur coat. The scent of pine and tea suffused the air.

"What are you doing here?" Eitsu asked of the man who had appeared behind her. He placed his own black outer robe around her nude form.

"What a colour," he murmured, lifting her hair free. "I thought you might be making the change soon. I've been keeping an eye out."

"You're been hiding in the bushes all this time? That's weird."

"Ha, not quite." He clicked his fingers, and a small statue of a fox that sat by the garden path turned its head, as though it were made of something other than stone.

"Nice trick. What do you want?"

"Shall we go for a walk?"

They slowly made their way through the garden, away from the house. Manicured pebbles were cold beneath Eitsu's bare feet, and as they reach a spot where the pebbles gave way to sharper gravel, Rei suddenly swept her in his arms.

"So you won't hurt your feet."

The shapes of the maples were like fingers. A camellia, dense with leaves, had been trimmed to bare the trunk for two metres, and it was here that Rei set her down. Eitsu wondered why she felt a little discomforted, standing under there with her near naked body pressed against Rei's and the thick foliage above them. And then he kissed her lips and she felt herself slip under that pine-scented mist.

He seemed to be in a hurry. Her lips, her ears, her neck, her small breasts, each was quickly kissed before he slipped between her legs and began to lick. Warmth flooded through her and she wriggled and mewled under his ministrations.

"Why... so fast...?"

"It's cold, is it not? I don't want you to get sick."

His long tongue slipped inside. Eitsu squeaked at the sensation, moving her hips against his thrusts. He pulled back, licking his lips as though h had eaten a delicious meal, and undid his inner robe a little.

"Won't you take off more...?"

"It's too cold. Let me keep you warm like this."

He gently folded her legs in against herself, her cold thighs pressed to her stomach. It was freezing at first, but quickly gathered warmth, and he pushed himself in, filling her up, his robe and body covering her. She pushed her fingers into his short hair and kissed greedily. The scent of tea was stronger in his hair. No... not tea... was it some sort of plant dye?

"What colour is your hair, really?" she asked suddenly. 

Rei flashed a smile. "Ask me again later." He began to thrust hard, driving any thoughts out of EItsu's mind. She clung tightly to him, her breath coming out in wild yowls. Anyone hearing the sound would know that there was a cat in heat nearby. Her fingers left the back of his head and crept around to his fringe. He seized her hand and kissed it.

"No touching."

"Why not?"

"It doesn't look nice. Be good."

When Tsubaki came to visit the next day, Ino was running around calling for Shika. The dancer paced anxiously through the garden, eyes searching everywhere for a fawn cat. Instead, they found the two people seated below the camellia tree, wrapped in each other's embrace.

Eitsu examined the dancer's face. What was that look? Why was her pretty face all twisted up? Horror? Anger? ... Betrayal?

And why was Rei smiling so triumphantly?