A Forest on Fire (KuramaxOc)

Ch 13: New Beginnings

The two firebrand kitsune sat in the clearing for what felt like hours! Yumiko told her mother all about her life for the past ten years, leaving nothing out! She told her about the daily training and studying. She told her about the first time she had managed to hit Mako in sparring, and how he had carried her through the temple for the rest of the day on his shoulders, bragging about her progress!

She told her about when he had brought a new child there, and how they had become friends! She even told her about Maru, and how he had tried to court her when she had been thirteen, and then she told her about Shuichi.

Suna listened with the warmest smile as her daughter gushed about her life in the living world, and the human boy she had met. Her daughter truly believed she had bonded to a fox-spirit, and the ache in the mother's heart made it impossible for her to tell the girl otherwise. In truth, as the two parents knew... Yoko and Shuichi were quite separate, even if they shared one form, and the young girl had yet to even meet his other half.

She laughed brightly as her daughter spoke of the library, and of the park. The boy seemed as much fox as human in spirit, and it made her smile in earnest. Finally, once the girl had run out of stories to tell, she raised a hand.

"My sweet kit, I'm afraid our time grows short, and there are things I must show you before you return to the living world."

Yumiko's eyes began to tear up immediately, but she bit her lip hard as a whimper tried to escape her. She knew of course... maybe not at first, but she had pieces it together.

"Can't I stay with you a little longer, mama?" She asked in a voice that was desperately small, but her mother simply shook her head.

"I'm afraid you've stayed far too long as it is, sweet girl."

She waited as her daughter fought back the sniffles that threatened to turn into full blown sobs again, and once the girl nodded, she lifted her hand to the kit's cheek. Immediately, images of her body laying in Shuichi's arms as they both slept against the kitchen island registered in her mind.

"Even with the temporary bond, you can now speak to your chosen through dreamspeak, as well as telepathy. You can send your thoughts to him at anytime, and can show him full memories through touch. This is how we communicate with our bonds, no matter how great the distance. As long as the two of you exist on the same realm, you will always be able to find each other."

Yumiko gasped at the images, as well as the lingering sensation of arms around her. She could feel the waking world tugging at her soul to return, her mother's task complete, but she wrapped her arms tighter around Suna, unwilling to let go just yet.

"I don't want to leave you..." she whispered, nuzzling her ears under the gentle kitsune's chin.

Suna gave a final, sad smile, and pulled her away.

"We'll see each other again, sweet girl... For now, go... Remember, this is only the temporary bond. You haven't claimed him just yet. It takes patience to catch a fox!" She grinned, and Yumiko couldn't help but return the smile as she caught the mischievous gleam in her mother's eye. She felt a pang in her core as the older kitsune began to fade, and that ethereal tugging grew stronger. With a final sniffling breath, she closed her eyes, and bid her mother farewell.

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Somewhere in the city, a young man with coal black hair stalked through the entrance to a hole-in-the-wall tavern. He had changed his appearance upon leaving the apartment, and though he had remained silent since his exit, a miserable aura radiated off of him in waves.