Eitsu's Nine Lives (永津の九生) [yuri/GL yokai reincarnation story]

10 - Ayame

CW: Suicidal ideation

***

The next twenty-four hours were a blur.

They left the auction house. It proved to have been built directly into a limestone cliff, the soft material scooped away to form the back rooms and huge hall. The front of this whole structure was a small tea house that was in absolute shambles from having near a hundred people rush out of it, pursued by various legendary beasts. They could still see the creatures spread across the city as they emerged from the wreckage, fighting some of the auction-goers through the city streets. It was an amazing scene – flashes of spiritual energy, ki, creatures soaring through the air or spitting glowing fire or ice, earth-shaking roars. Eitsu joined in the fun and relieved some of her feelings by casually reaching for the wooden shopfront and tearing the sad remains of it down with a single, clawed hand, revelling in her increasing strength.

Tsubaki sat down on a stone nearby and stared blankly out across an ocean.

They appeared to be in a seaside city, built into limestone cliffs. A pretty place, it was currently in chaos as fighting broke out up and down, the citizens hiding within their homes as legendary creatures clashed with the greedy auction participants. Eitsu watched for a while, but none of the residents were harmed; people in uniforms were emerging throughout the city, their bodies and weapons flickering with ki. The fighting had evidently drawn the attention of some very capable people.

Eitsu finished dismantling the entire shopfront, then knelt down beside Tsubaki.

"Hey, Tsubaki-san?"

"..."

"That was dangerous, you know? You could have died." 

"... So?" The word slipped from Tsubaki's lips, unintentionally, which made her purse them even more and turn away.

Eitsu examined her carefully. Tsubaki's beautiful eyes were bright with the light of the moon as it sat low on the horizon, but it was a trembling, desperate beauty.

"Who were you... are you, to me?"

The tiny scars on Tsubaki's hands shifted as she clenched her hands.

"Who am I, to you?" A voice whispered in the back of Eitsu's mind. It sounded like Tsubaki's, but the moment she paused to listen, it disappeared.

Eitsu sat down with a sigh. "I'm sorry."

"... For what?"

"I'm sorry that I don't remember anything. I'm sorry that I've probably been wandering around carelessly without any understanding."

Tsubaki said nothing.

"You came to save me twice now... in this life, at least. Tsubaki-san... were you ready to die?"

"Who's going to die?" Tsubaki retorted coldly.

With a short laugh, Eitsu stroked her tangled hair, and began smoothing it. "No one. Not me, not Tsubaki."

The sun was preparing to rise. A golden wash was creeping up over the ocean, diluting the dark night.

"Tsubaki-san, it's been more than three lives, hasn't it?"

Eitsu continued to comb her nails through Tsubaki's long hair. The faint perfume of camellia oil clung to her fingers. She combed as the sky grew pink and gold with a new morning.

"I've been dreaming of you, I think."

"And?"

"They were nightmares."