League - Chapter 8

Authors note: Make sure to check the main fanfiction page for gameplay to story changes so you are able to follow along.

Make sure to also check out the Yokai Tamer game page for more information and to play the game yourself

~~~

Ember spent the next few weeks in the infirmary sleeping most of the time, unaware of the growing agitation in Darius and subsequently the silence and trepidation amongst the rest of the guild who could sense it. She was unaware of his frequent visits to the infirmary and often spending long periods sitting next to her, holding her hand, and giving her a little kiss on the forehead before going again. 

Vampira, on one of Ember's requests during the brief periods she was awake, had done a few tests. Ember was fearful of what Riggles may have done to her while she was unconscious and wanted to know for certain. She was sure that Darius would want to know as well. She asked Vampira to tell him after telling her so that she could manage how to handle his, and her own, emotions if her worst fears were real.

"There's nothing," Vampira said softly to her, a smile played on her lips. "Riggles may have harmed you but he didn't violate you…" Ember let out a huge sigh of relief before the small voice chimed in, crying out to be near Darius. "So how much longer do I have to stay in here?"

"I can guess what will happen if I release you into Darius' care," The miko gave Ember a very cheeky grin. "If the stitches are stable enough today, I'll ask him to take you back to your room during one of his visits."

"That's good to hear," Ember yawned, the medications helping her heal starting to draw her into sleep again. "I hope to wake up in my own bed." 

~~~

Vampira sat at Ember's bedside and re-dressing the numerous wounds over her body. She expected Darius would be coming to visit soon and ask his usual question of "When can I take Ember back to our room?" Today she had a positive answer for him.

Gently she started to roll Ember over to access the large wound that stretched down the length of her back. A second pair of hands appeared taking some of the weight from her. She looked up to find Darius with a concerned look on his face.

"She'll be able to go back to your room today," Vampira said as she took the dressing down. "Her wounds have all been stable and will be to withstand a bit of…" She paused to glance up at him, catching a very light blush on his face. "Well your instincts will be driving you to… you know…"

"Is that why you held her here for so long?" he asked quietly. He could feel his face threatening to deepen the blush and he let out a huff in response.

"Of course," Vampira teased. She put the finishing touches to the bandage before helping him ease Ember back onto her back. "So you're welcome to take her back to your room whenever you like." She gave a small bow before leaving him with her in peace.

Darius looked down at Ember. She looked peaceful in her sleep. One of her tails tapped the bed lightly in time to something. Letting out a sigh, he carefully picked up and keeping in mind where her wounds were and carried her out of the infirmary.

His journey to their bedroom was slowed by League members coming over to talk to him and check on her. Each one expressing relief that Ember appeared to be comfortable and healing well. He was relieved when they finally reached their bedroom.

Once inside, Darius eased Ember onto their bed and gently covered her up with the blanket. She hadn’t stirred at all since his visit and her subsequent discharge from the infirmary into his care. His instinct was wreaking havoc in his head. Telling him to wake her up. To pin her down and reclaim her. Devour her… He shook his head hard. Ember needed her rest. No matter what his instinct wanted, Ember’s health came first.

It will help her heal. It insisted to him. She needs contact from you just like you need it from her. Darius rolled his eyes and sat down on the bed, taking off his shoes and jacket. Trust me. I’m a part of you, don’t you trust yourself?

That’s not it. He sighed. I want to take things slowly where you are concerned. He got into bed and pulled Ember close to him. She rolled over and snuggled up to him, letting out a soft purr when she finally stopped moving. Ember isn’t aware of her own instinct, so slow is best for now.

Then you need skin to skin contact if you want to go slow. His instinct gave him images of holding hands or kissing before giving way to more sexually suggestive images. Your unique instinct is linked to having that contact.

You know what it is? Darius asked as he carefully interlocked his fingers with Ember’s that rested on his chest. 

I do. It replied in an almost smug tone. I can’t tell you because you need her instinct active and working to be able to use it. He could tell that if it was alive it would have been smiling at him. It suits both of you. Suits your personalities well.

Darius looked down at the top of Ember’s head thoughtfully. He wondered if their unique instinct would manifest as a skill like Takoyakii and Yukkii or whether it was an additional sense like Kirei and Chocolatte. He watched her ears flick and turn in her sleep like she was listening to something. Suits our personalities, eh? He gently stroked her hair while he thought about what their unique instinct could possibly be. Kirei and Chocky's unique instinct is the sight. Kirei has retrocognition where as Chocky has precognition. Tako and Yukkii can talk to each other telepathically. 

He watched her flick her ears again and then her right one flicked like as if something was on it that she wanted to shake off. She groaned slightly and flipped over onto her back before scooting herself backwards, nuzzling into his side again. Her tails flicked up and rested across his thighs, one trailing upwards towards his chest. It wasn't often he got to watch her sleep, but when he did, her way of sleeping was strange and at times cute. He could feel her ears still moving just under his chin. 

"Ember?" he asked softly. He didn't want to wake her but he didn't want her to go back to sleep if she was already awake. He wrapped both arms around her tightly. "Ember?"

"Hmmm?" Came the soft, almost muffled reply. "I'm currently not awake. Please call back again later." Darius couldn't help himself. He started laughing, startling her awake in the process. 

She looked up at him confused. He took a hold of one of her ears and gave it a playful pinch eliciting a little squeak from her before tying to tuck her head under his arm to protect her ears from more pinching. "They're sensitive you know."

"I know," he replied before sitting up, taking away her little hiding spot for her ears. "I wanted to talk to you about something."

Immediately Ember shrunk back into the blankets prompting him to pull her out again. "I'm not angry that you were avoiding me." He paused seeing her disbelief. "I am frustrated that you did that but I'm not angry."

"Then what did you want to talk about?" she asked quietly. A little voice in her head cried out. It's meeeeee! It's about me! She shook her head vigorously. I won't go away.

He smiled. "That voice is your instinct," he said as he listened to his own advising him on what was happening for her. "That's what I wanted to talk to you about."

Ember tilted her head before leaning over and pulling out the scroll she found in nether. "This mentioned instincts as well." She handed it to him. "You're my fourth spouse but this is the first time I've heard of instincts or even had a voice in my head. What are they?"

He quickly skimmed the scroll before responding to her. "They are the manifestation of a marriage bond. When the pair have a healthy relationship it develops and become another skill that only the pair can access. For example, Tako and Yukkii are able to talk to each other telepathically. That is the unique skill they possess. Kirei and Chocky have the sight. Kirei can see the past and Chocky can see the future."

"Then what is ours?" Ember asked curiously. She had been oblivious to the extra skills the others possessed and was now quite intrigued that she shared unique skill with him. Her eyes widened realization. "That skill Gabriel used… That was his unique skill with Ginx!" Darius nodded. "So the possibilities of what our skill will be."

"Well…" he leaned in closer with a smile that made Ember shiver slightly in uncertainty. "That's what we have to find out."

The next day Vampira came by to check on Ember's wounds. She clicked her tongue disapprovingly at times causing Ember to shiver under her touch. Darius had already gone to do some training for the day so Ember had to bear the brunt of Vampira's disapproval on her own.  

"If I had known he was going to be rough with you I would have held you longer," Vampira said poking the reddened areas around the stitches. Ember jumped and used her tails to swat at Vampira.

"He would have gotten more irritated with that," she replied with a smile. "I was wondering…"

"About your outfit?" Vampira asked redressing the wound on her back. "We couldn't salvage it. Hime and Spring tried to repair it but it was too far gone." The door clicked open almost punctuating her sentence. "I let Darius know about that earlier…"

Ember looked at the door and narrowed her eyes at her spouse. "So… If you knew, where did you run off to? You don't smell like you've been training." She sniffed the air again. "You smell like new fabric and flowers."

Darius gave her a wry smile. "I went to see Hime and Spring if you must know." He turned and hung a coat hanger that had a black plastic covering over whatever was inside. "I remembered you had been looking at an outfit a while back and wanted to get it eventually…" He removed the cover.

Ember's eyes widened. The outfit was the one she dreamed of having for such a long time. Long red kimono sleeves tipped with a black design along end. Cherry blossoms dotted the length of the sleeves. The short skirt came to mid thigh and gave the illusion of being loose and flowy. The tight black obi around the waist held in place with multiple tasseled ties that hung down well past the knees. Most of all, she wanted to reach out and touch the white fur collar. It looked so soft and inviting to the touch.

"You spoil me too much you know," Ember said unable to say anything else. "Thankyou."

"You spoil me in other ways," he replied with a wink. "You're welcome."

~~~

Chocolatte shook her head. Kirei had been cuddling her while she read from the books Yukkii had given her. She felt off. Knowing what this was, she closed her eyes.

She was in Darius and Ember's bedroom. From the look of it, she was standing next to the bed. Part of her told her not to look down at the bed but instead look at the door.

After a while, the door opened and in walked Siegheart before coming to an abrupt halt, his face reddening in embarrassment. He quickly and quietly retreated back out the door.

She let herself flow through the door to where Siegheart stood outside talking to Kirei and herself. She noted he was purposefully keeping his wrists covered. 

"Choco?" Kirei's voice brought her back out of the vision. "You stopped turning the page. Something wrong?"

"My precognition activated," she replied. She looked out the window. "When it gets dark, we need to go to Darius and Ember's room but not go in."

"Did you see something that involves them?" Kirei asked looking concerned.

"No," she replied placing a bookmark in the book and leaning back against him. "We'll see Siegheart there…" She shook her head letting the last remnants of the fuzzy feeling to pass. "I'm not sure for what reason we meet him but I do know he will be there."

Both of them could hear the dice of change starting to rattle… Will they land on a win or will it be snake eyes and doom for the guild?

League - Chapter 7

 Authors note: Make sure to check the main fanfiction page for gameplay to story changes so you are able to follow along.

Make sure to also check out the Yokai Tamer game page for more information and to play the game yourself.

Also this chapter may have scenes that trigger PTSD. Read at your own risk.

~~~

Noise. 

That was all Ember could hear. The sound of metal against metal. The grating noise of metal against tile and concrete. Cries of pain. Warcries. Victorious cries.

She opened her eyes slightly to take in her surroundings. She was in the air. She could make out her guild fighting amongst the swarm of kitsune and tengu. Lowering her eyes she looking directly below her.

Darius and Kirei danced in battle against Riggles and Gabriel. She watched through hooded eyes and noticed that pair had the upper hand. Knowing she couldn’t do anything, she took stock of how she was feeling. Her arms tingled from her brief movement after having long since gone numb. Her body felt heavy like she had lost any ability to move. Her tails felt like dead weight. She couldn’t lift them.

She sighed and watched the battle going on around her. She watched Moon and Talon tag teaming Xyz, their swords creating more cuts than Xyz could. Past them, Chocolatte and Skye we’re keeping Mali from aiding Xyz.

Everywhere she looked, League members worked together to beat Rogue into submission. Her eyes felt heavy again. Something was bleeding still. She could feel it. 

She lowered her head and met Darius' eyes. She blinked at him before closing her eyes again and let herself drift away.

~~~

“How long can you hold out?” Moon taunted Xyz. The odds were in their favour. All of the strong auras from League tied up the strongest auras in Rogue. The small number remaining were easily pulled into 2v1 battles.

“As long as I can,” Xyz spat back before being knocked by a wave of water from Talon’s shikigami. 

“Your guild are going to rue the day that you decided to attack our guild leader!” Talon cried sending his shikigami to try and drown her with a pillar of water. “League will always stand united against bullies like you.”

“And no matter how weak you think we are,” Moon’s sword cut arcs of damage into Xyz making her fall to one knee. “United we are stronger than all of you!” 

Xyz fell to the floor unmoving. Due to Gabriel’s strange ability she was unable to spawn away from the battle either. Moon and Talon smiled at each other before splitting up to help the others. Moon paused to take a look around the room. Everywhere she looked, Rogue were falling to the ever-increasing numbers of their guild attacking them. 

Spotting Yukkii and Takoyakii were now free, she called out to them. “Help Kirei and Dari!” Yukkii gave her a thumbs up while Takoyakii nodded and together they darted towards the tengu. Turning, she darted off to find another group to provide aid too.

~~~

“You’re going down!” Yukkii’s sword lodged into Gabriel’s shoulder leaving a deep cut. “You chose the wrong guild to attack!”

“Ember!” Takoyakii called up to the hanging yellow clad kitsune. “Ember! Your shiki would be able to be summoned to assist us!”

“It looks like she’s still passed out,” Gabriel taunted parrying their swords. “Pity. I’m sure Riggles would love to touch her soft body again.”

“I hope for your guild that she hasn’t been touched like that,” Kirei’s voice was dark. “Because there will be no where that you and Riggles will be able to hide from Darius and the rest of League.” He spun his sword in his wrist so the blade ran parallel to his arm. “You won’t win.”

“We shall see,” Gabriel replied with renewed vigour. “You’re all talk so we shall see.”

~~~

How long…? Ember awoke again to the sound of battle. How long had she been asleep? She looked around the room and looked confused. The battle continued to rage but something was different. The energy in the room was anger. Pure seething rage.

She looked around trying to pinpoint why. The energy wasn’t anger but protection before. Why anger now?

She looked around. Darius and Kirei were being assisted by Yukkii and Takoyakii now. Everywhere, League members looked like they had the upper hand against Rogue. She smiled slightly before looking down again at Darius and Kirei.

Maybe I can help. She shifted her wrists trying to rub the bracelets together. My shiki… help them…

The movement shot pain to reverberate across her shoulders and down her back. Ember bit her lip concentrating on bringing her shiki forth. Naruto was the first to appear. The water shiki nodded and flowed down to assist the two. 

Ember gave the silent order to all assist before darkness once again overtook her.

~~~

Complete and utter devastation. Members of Rogue laid scattered all over their guild station. With the battle over, Kirei and Siegheart were looking around trying to find a way to get Ember down.

Yukkii and Darius looked up at her. Their minds unable to comprehend how or why Rogue could stoop to this level. The amount of damage that they could see was too much for one kitsune to handle. She was going to need intense therapy and healing. Yukkii was glad the miko in the infirmary had upgraded everything recently.

“Alright!” Kirei called out. “I don’t know how fast she will come down but please catch her so she doesn’t get more injured with the fall.” Using his sword, he broke the lock holding the rigging in place.

Many hands caught Ember and eased her to the floor. Darius untied her wrists and held her close to him. He didn't want to see her like this. This was more pain on to of what she already had. Kirei placed a hand on his shoulder and wordlessly offered out a hand. Darius let Kirei pick Ember up and carry her.

As they all made their way out of the Rogue headquarters, Kirei felt Ember shift slightly in his arms. “Ember… It’s ok. I have you.”

“Kirei…” she whispered. He felt her words were more an out breath rather than actually using her voice.

“I’m taking you back home so you can heal better,” he said softly. “You're the worst hurt.” Ember fell into a silent slumber as they continued on their way out of Rogue.

~~~~

The 2 miko manning the infirmary attended to Ember. Kirei eased her down before grabbing the first aid kit and a few other supplies for the smaller injuries the rest of League were sporting from their battle.

“Kirei…” he paused and looked back at Ember, smiling that she was awake again. “Can you make sure Dari is ok?”

“Will do,” Kirei gently ruffled her hair, mildly amused that she was more worried about her spouse than herself. “You focus on getting better.”

“Now,” Vampira made shooing motions at Kirei, who laughed before leaving with all his supplies in hand. “Ember I’m going to try to remove your dress before attending to your wounds.” Ember nodded and waited while everything was taken off. She winced and cried where her clothes were stuck to her skin. Her cry caused Kirei to poke his head back in. “Kirei…” Vampira pointed back to the door once all of Ember’s clothes had been thrown into a bucket of boiling water. They hoped they could salvage and repair them.

“I know,” He walked back out the door and closed it behind him. 

~~~~

Darius sighed as he worked on cleaning Ember’s tails while she slept. Vampira set him to clean them after he ducked his head in to check in on her. He only wanted to check in… not be given a task to do. 

Wrong place at the wrong time… he sighed. He did like the feel of his spouse’s tail so it wasn’t a huge loss. His process was slow and methodical. Slowly bringing each of her nine tails back to their soft white glory that all kitsune possessed.

“You know…” Ember’s voice startled him. “I should get you to brush my tails more often. It feels really good.”

“Oh really?,” he replied with a wry smile. “How long have you been awake?” 

“Ever since you started on the second one,” She purred in reply enjoying the gentle feeling of her heavy tails becoming lighter and free of dirt and blood.

“I’m on the fifth one now,” He was exasperated with her. “Why didn’t you say something sooner?”

“Enjoying it too much?” Ember’s purr sounded amused and happy. “You’re frustrated with me more than what you’re letting on. What’s wrong?”

“Why did you go out?” Darius couldn’t understand her motives. “I know you're strong but you usually time when you go out better than that.”

“You remember the fight we had?" He nodded and motioned for her to continue. "I wanted to surprise you by creating the stronger gears you need.” She sighed softly. 

He gave her a kiss on her forehead before continuing with her tails. “So you hunting materials is how you got caught by Riggles and Gabriel,” Darius replied filling in the gaps.

Ember’s purr intensified when Darius started on a new tail. The base of her tails were a sensitive spot and his gentle stroking sent shivers down her spine. “Dari… how many more need cleaning?”

Darius laughed at the slightly sultry huskiness in her voice. He was tempted to continue to tease her but she wouldn’t be able to do much but be frustrated at him. He smiled to himself placing the note to tease her more after she was better in the back of his mind.

“I have another two to go after this one,” He watched her shiver again as he continued to work at the base before moving further down her tail. “Don’t worry Emb… I won’t do anything until you’re better…”

League - Chapter 6

 Authors note: Make sure to check the main fanfiction page for gameplay to story changes so you are able to follow along.

Make sure to also check out the Yokai Tamer game page for more information and to play the game yourself

Also this chapter may have scenes that trigger PTSD. Read at your own risk.

~~~

Darius flopped back onto the couch in his room. There was a dull ache now all over his body which seemingly appeared for not reason. He knew it something to do with Ember. It wasn't simply her avoiding him now. Something happened to her. "What do I do now?" Ever since reading the book and talking to Takoyakii and Yukkii, he had been trying to communicate with his instincts.

Wait… It told him. I can feel her instinct calling to me. It says you need to wait. You're going to receive a way to find her soon.

Darius sighed and, about to reply sarcastically to his contradictory instinct, was interrupted by his phone letting off a series of pings. He scrolled through his phone and came to an unknown number. Ever wondered what would happen if part of your soul had been taken away? He read the message confused. Swiping right, he looked at the next message. What would you do if part of your soul was sent to Takamagahara? Would you be able to survive the separation? Darius' confusion grew at the strange messages. Watch the video and see what part of your soul is doing… What we've done to her… Darius sat bolt upright. Her?! Swiping right again, a video message appeared ready to play. Shaking, he pressed play.

He watched as the video started traveling through the Illusory Ghostdom. "This is going to be good…" He recognised Gabriel's voice.  The video came up to his yellow-clad kitsune who danced in battle with a giant monster. "Our plan starts here…"

Riggles stepped into frame. He darted forward and attacked Ember. Her shikigami burst forth in response. One after another Riggles cut them down. In amongst the battle the monster was killed and forgotten. Riggles' sword struck out at her, forcing her to the ground. Normally, in their world, when a kitsune or tengu fell in battle they were respawned away from the battle… but something was wrong.

A hand moved into frame glowing slightly while Riggles continued to cut into Ember. The camera zoomed in and out on the various cuts into her skin and tears in her clothes until finally she stopped moving in resistance. He crouched down and poked her before picking her up and coming closer to the camera. "So you can see what I can do. Do what you always do. We will be waiting," he gently ran a finger over Ember's cheek. "Who knows. I might have more fun before you get here." 

As the video ended, Darius' eyes flashed angrily. So that's why Ember has been missing. He stood up and made his way out of the room and briskly started to walk towards Yukkii's room. We need to settle this NOW.

He stalked to Yukkii's bedroom, his phone tightly hold in a white knuckled grip in his hand. Taking a deep breath, he knocked on the door. It took a few moments before. Yukkii opened the door. It didn't take much for Yukkii to guess something was very wrong. Wordlessly, Darius passed his phone to him and let him watch the video he had just seen.

"Oh my…" Yukkii indicated to Takoyakii to come closer to have a look. "This will be difficult to rescue her," They all jumped when Darius' phone began t ping. Yukkii handed the phone back to him. "You better check that."

Darius flicked through to the new messages from the unknown number. "I've had my fan," he read aloud to the two. "Want to see what I've done? I promise it will be worth your while." Darius bit his lip and lowered his phone so they could see the screen before pressing play.

The scene looked familiar. It was a guild station deep within the bowels of a guild headquarters. Banners of Rogue were covering walls and emblazoned on umbrellas and other paraphernalia littered around the room. In the centre stood Riggles and Gabriel with Ember crumpled before them.

"Pathetic…" Ember whispered trying to get up. "If you want a fight with Dari then why not attack him directly. Why use me?"

Everyone looked up in surprise when footsteps started to come closer to them. Darius hit pause before letting out a deep breath. His anger was rising but he didn't want his guild to be the targets of his ire.

“Get over here,” he said indicating to Kirei and Siegheart. “Better you two know what is going on.” Once they were close, the group quickly filled the two in before pressing play on the video again.

"You being his beloved spouse makes you the perfect bait," Riggles crouched down reaching out to her again. Once again, Ember summoned her shikigami in response to keep him away from her. "Your shiki are no match for me." She weakly tried to fend him off before he leaned forward and grabbed the front of her dress to pull her close to his face. "Your power is worthless here."

Kirei and Siegheart both knew what that word would do to Ember. They watched as her mind shut down escaping from what was happening before her. Riggles and Gabriel both started laughing at her response. "Little did you know Assassin worked for us!" Gabriel leaned forward to poke Ember's cheek to try and elicit some response from her. "He did his job well. You're completely useless now. Perfect bait for your spouse."

"Hmm…" Riggles dropped her on the floor before placing a hand on one of her bows and gave it a mock tug. "Since you're not adverse to having tengu in your bed, perhaps a few more will be good for you." The video ended abruptly causing Darius to let out an enraged sound. Everyone present jumped, not use to Darius expressing so much emotion let alone anger.

"If he so much as touches her," his voice caused chills though everyone present. "There will be nowhere he can hide from me. I will kill him no matter how long it takes."

"What do you propose we do?" Siegheart asked, concerned that Ember was now in a situation with Riggles doing god knows what to her. "We need a battle plan before we go in there."

"I'll handle Riggles," Darius growled softly. "I doubt he will be able to be manageable by anyone but perhaps Kirei." Yukkii nodded. "There are more of us than there are of them currently. We can try 1v2 their members." That brought a round of nods. "We need to focus on overpowering them with sheer members."

~~~

Riggles pulled a few non-essential bows on Ember’s dress undone and strategically placed some cuts in her thigh high socks before he stood up. He looked over to Gabriel with sly smile. 

“Are you really going to?” Gabriel asked mildly concerned. He had his own spouse, Ginx, and wouldn’t dream of cheating on her.

“No,” Riggles replied walking away to find a rope. “I’m not that disgusting.” He shuddered before returning to tie Ember’s wrists together. “But I will make the impression that I did to make them off-balance.”

“Kings was going to join us for this,” Gabriel replied with a wry smile. “They're going to be mad we started without them. Leanne and Omegatron in particular were looking forward to it."

“Well they failed in their task to weaken League,” Riggles replied smiling back. He tested the rope on her wrists before attaching it to the rigging. “League will have their work cut out for them if Darius goes berserk,” Giving the signal, he guided Ember’s body until she was hanging freely before letting go to be hoisted the rest of the way up. He reached up and waited until her tails no longer touched his hand. “Stop there!” He called out. “Perfect. The stage is set.”

~~~

It wasn’t long before the guild members of League were gathered outside of Rogue headquarters.

“As much as I don’t want to say this,” Yukkii said to Darius and Kirei. “But there will be a number casualties from this battle, it would be best to focus on rescuing Ember and leaving. Try not to prolong the battle longer than needed.”

“I agree,” Kirei replied with affirming nods from Darius. “Our guild knows the risk but they want to help get Ember back.”

“I don’t know if I'll be able to remain in control…” Darius voice was strong but strained. “Not after seeing those videos…”

“Try to keep your head,” Kirei rested his hand on his shoulder. “We don’t know what we are walking into. Try not to go berserk with what you see.”

Darius took a deep breath and clenched his fists. With a nod, everyone walked into the building. Unlike the usual hustle and bustle of League, the Rogue headquarters was as silent as a grave. The group walked through and made their way down to the guild station.

“Oh my god!” Moon cried out as soon as she looked into the guild station. 

Ember swung slightly from the ceiling by her wrists. Trails of blood made red tracks down her body and staining her white tails. Drops occasionally fell to the floor letting them know something somewhere was still actively bleeding. Darius' eyes narrowed. He could see bows that had been undone and the tears up and down her legs.

“You spotted my fun,” Riggles walked across the centre of the guild station. “You have quite the catch there and lucky too to have someone as loyal as her.” He stopped just to the left of where Ember hung.

“Probably the only thing you’ll be lucky at,” Gabriel also came out and stopped to the right of Ember. His hands began to glow lightly once again. “Shall we begin?”

League - Chapter 5

 Authors note: Make sure to check the main fanfiction page for gameplay to story changes so you are able to follow along.

Make sure to also check out the Yokai Tamer game page for more information and to play the game yourself

~~~

Ember sighed as she travelled through nether. She had borrowed Darius' rhino… Without his permission… So she could get through it quicker. She was amused that she had already killed Yoto Hime and Ibaraki Doji with the help of the rhino who threatened to gore the monsters if they so much as touched her. They didn't drop much that was useful other than perfect gems. She hoped Mori Baba would have something for Darius.

The nether bosses scared her, Nether Girl more so than the other bosses in the area she was hunting in. While the first two were like kitten's before Nether Candle, the last three that roamed here could easily eat her for breakfast. She bit her lip as she guided Darius' rhino to slowly creep up to where Mori Baba stood. She borrowed the rhino for more protection and security.

Dari tends to ride his motorcycle more than his rhino she reasoned with herself. I also left a note for him in case he is looking for him. She gave the rhino a little pat before sliding off his back and pulling nether candle from its sheath tucked in the saddle. She quietly stepped forward, trying to keep her laughter in when the plod-plod-plod sound of the rhino following her as quietly as he could. Well… At least I can tell it's Dari's rhino and not Kirei's…

She put out her hand and the rhino stepped moving. Inching forward, she raised nether candle and leapt in for the kill. Behind her, she could hear a stampede of sound before the rhino appeared again at her side with his horns aimed at Mori Baba causing the monster to back away from her. Yup… Definitely Dari's rhino… Won't listen to a word I say…

The boss dropped nothing but a small scroll that she looked at curiously. Scrolls were rare finds and often held nuggets of information. She knows the League library held many scrolls that members had found over the years. She leaned against the rhino and began to unroll it.

Marital ties can cause strife when distance causes instincts to go haywire. A simple way for a pair to put their instincts at bay is creating a means of contact that is maintained during the time that is required.

Ember stared the scroll in confusion. Instincts? What are those? And how are they related to being married to someone? She rolled the scroll up and tucked it into a pouch on the rhino. I need to ask Snowbunny about that when I get back. He and Tako have been married for so long that he would have come across what instincts are.

Hopping up onto the rhino, she gave him another gentle pat. "Let's go see if Rama has anything for your Master next," she said to him before guiding him onwards towards the boss' usual hangout.

~~~~

Darius was frustrated. Ember kept avoiding him. She never returned to their room anymore at night and when he would go to search for her, he was unable to find her. 

Even her pets were unable to tell him where she was. His only hint was that his rhino was missing and a note that read “He’s with me” and a little red heart. 

His instincts were screaming at him to find her. It had been over a fortnight since they last had any sort of physical contact and as the days began to increase, so did the volume of his instinct's voice. 

I can remember feeling this agitated when Hanae left… He thought as he stalked through the library. He needed answers about how to manage his instincts before they became all that he could hear. But it stopped after a while. Why isn't it stopping with Ember?

He walking along the shelves, he searched for information on marital bonds. He remembered there was a book he read before he married Hanae that explained to him how it worked but because it had been so long since then, he had forgotten a lot of the information. His fingers tapped the spines of the books as he read the titles. Baby Orbs 101: Rituals for Summoning, Wings of a Tengu, A Tail of Kitsune Skills… Where is it? He continued to skim the shelves until he found what he was looking for. Found it! Wings and Tails - A Book on Marital Ties.

Picking it up, he looked through the chapters until he found the one on instincts. Marriage between Kitsune and Tengu creates more than just a bonding of two individuals. Many instincts are unlocked. Some are unique to the couple and some are generalized to all couples. Darius looked confused. Unique instincts? He continued to read. The most basic of instincts is awareness of your spouse. Awareness of whether they are awake or asleep, awareness of their emotional status, and awareness of their physical health. This instinct causes a massive increase in physical attributes. Kitsune become more energetic and vibrant, speed and evasiveness increases. Tengu, on the other hand, become stronger; being able to withstand more attacks and deal more damage. Darius smiled slightly. That explains how she becomes so bouncy after she wakes up.

He continued to skim the page. It described more basic instincts that he already knew about. He slowed down, reading carefully when he reached the information about separation. A consequence for a marital bond between a kitsune and tengu is physical contact. Generally speaking, most couples are able to maintain their instincts to be in contact by sleeping together at night. Simple things, such as holding hands and kissing, also help to maintain the bond between the couple. When there is a separation, such as a spouse being unable to be near their significant other for a prolonged period of time, the instincts begin to try and force the pair back into contact with each other. Only when there is no way for the pair to be close to each other, in such cases where one of the pair has left the country or passed away, the Gods will quieten the instincts and correct the imbalance created within the kitsune/tengu. Darius sighed. That doesn't help my current situation. It's not that I don't want to or that I can't get to her, it's that she's avoiding me. 

There have been instances where spouses with difficult or traumatic pasts have been able to shut down their instincts. Darius paused and stared at that sentence. Ember… He wondered if she was aware of her own instincts or even aware of what they were doing to him. In these cases, the level of agitation and persuasion felt by the spouse may become unbearable before their partner recognizes the issue. He sighed and closed the book. I'll take this with me. It may be that I'll need to unlock Ember's instincts again so that this doesn't happen in the future… Provided she finally recognizes what is going on now. Getting up, he made his way out of the library. Maybe Yukkii might be able to help me.

~~~~

Yukkii and Takoyakii were sitting in the communal lounge when Darius finally found them. They offered him the small strawberry mochi that they were sharing as a snack when he came and sat with them.

"Instincts…" Darius spoke softly. "I know you two have new been married for a long time. You two would know your instincts better than anyone. I need help getting Ember to recognize hers."

"How is that possible?" Takoyakii asked in surprise. "There isn't a way that she can't recognize them. I know mine can be so loud when Yukkii and I have an argument," Yukkii nodded in agreement and looked confused. 

"She has a bad past," he replied causing both to stare at him in shock. "You didn't know?"

"No," They both replied. Takoyakii looked at Yukkii with a raised eyebrow before hugging him. "Your voice is back!"

"It seems so…" Yukkii replied. He thought carefully for a bit before adding, "If that's the case then you'll need to talk her through hearing it. The more the two of you interact with your own instincts, the more likely the unique one will appear. I know it took a long time before the one Tako and I share appeared."

"Your unique instinct?" Darius asked. He couldn't think of what it could be as they seemed to be like any other married couple.

"Ours manifested as a skill," Takoyakii explained. "Telepathy. We can talk to each other without speaking out loud." 

Darius' eyes widened and understood now how Takoyakii was able to say what Yukkii was thinking. "So he was telling you exactly what he was thinking, that's how you could tell us."

"Exactly," Yukkii smiled. "You need to get Ember to hear hers first by guiding her. I know you two have been avoiding each other so once you find her, pin her down until you can get through to her exactly what is going on for you." Yukkii gave a very sly smile. "I mean you would pin her down a lot before you two had this episode." 

Takoyakii gave Yukkii a playful smack and Darius let out an exasperated breath. "Well, I'm sure you pin Tako down as well… A lot. Hard not to when they are so enticing at times."

Yukkii laughed earning another smack from Takoyakii. "Either way, until you can catch Ember, try focusing on communicating with your own instincts. You may find that it is a really good guide on how to communicate with Ember."

~~~~

Ember once again was travelling through Illusory Ghostdom seeking materials. She knew she was running out of time. She could sense Darius' agitation levels growing and the longer she took the stronger that feeling grew within her. She had also started to hear a small voice in her head. It was sad, crying for its partner. Ember had never had this before and couldn't understand why it sounded so sad. 

The sooner I get this done, the sooner I will be able to go back to him. She thought as she leapt into a fight with another boss. Soon… Nether candle met another weapon and she came to a jarring halt. No… NO!!! Everything faded to black.

League - Chapter 4

Authors note: Make sure to check the main fanfiction page for gameplay to story changes so you are able to follow along.

Make sure to also check out the Yokai Tamer game page for more information and to play the game yourself

~~~

The next morning Darius awoke to the sound of someone banging on their bedroom door. Not feeling Ember stir near him from the noise, he looked down. She had tucked her head just under his arm, forcing her ears to flatten against her head. She won't be able to hear this racket. Rolling his eyes, he propped himself up enough be able to talk to whoever was at the door but also not to wake her up. Pausing, almost like a secondary thought, he pulled the blanket that sat low along their waists up so it covered up to Ember's shoulder.

"What!" he yelled controlling his tone to sound rather irritable at being woken up. He didn't have long to wait for the answer.

The door flew open and a frantic Kirei burst in. He paused, looking around the room before looking at the bed. "Oh…" He went bright red before shaking his head hard. "Sorry sorry."

Again Darius rolled his eyes. "What has you banging on my door so early this morning?" 

"Choco's missing," he said before pacing back and forth frantically. "I've looked everywhere. I don't know where she could be. She didn't come to bed last night and I've been awake all night waiting for her to come back." He spoke fast, barely breathing between his sentences.

"Chocky is missing?" Darius asked clarifying he heard Kirei right. Kirei paused in his pacing to nod in response. "Why can't you use your retrocognition to find her?"

Kirei shook his head. "I'm too wound up. It won't activate to let me find her." He crossed his arms in front of him. "Besides, Choco and I haven't developed our instinct enough to use it without physical contact." He looked at Darius' hopefully. "Please. I need help finding her."

Darius sighed before gently shifting to move Ember's head out from where she had tucked it. "Ember…" She flicked her ears at him but barely moved. He gave her ear a pinch before calling again. "Ember!"

"No more Dari…" Ember purred softly. "I'm going to be too sore in the morning if we keep going." 

It was Darius' turn to go red. "It's already morning!" He watched her crack her eyes open slightly to look at him. "We need your nose again."

"I thought we agreed it doesn't come off?" she asked confused. Kirei couldn't help himself but start to silently giggle at the interaction between the two. He knew Ember took a while to be aware of what was going on when she wasn't startled awake. 

"Ember…" Darius' voice was stern with a hint of frustration seeping through. "Not a time for jokes. Chocky is missing. We need you to try and find her."

Ember tilted her head at him before she replied "Okie okie," before moving to get up. Darius quickly grabbed a hold of her and looked up at Kirei. The two tengu stared at each other before Darius pointed at the door. Kirei blushed again and darted outside before closing the door. Ember looked up at Darius confused. "I thought you wanted me to find Choco."

Darius sighed and let her go. He watched in amusement as she got up and stumbled into their ensuite. It had to be my spouse that is the only one with kitsune features… He got up and started to get himself ready for the day. Where could Chocky have gone? 

It never ceased to amaze him the transformation from the half asleep and very confused Ember to the one that came bouncing out of their ensuite. Her green eyes were wide open and bright. She stood watching him for a moment before giggling. "I don't think those match…"

Looking down, he noticed his outfit indeed didn't match. Sighing, he decided to change again. Smiling, he picked out a rather interesting outfit. "How do I look?" 

Ember looked at him up and down. "Candy demon?" He nodded. "You look very pink…" He went to change again. "Too bad pink tengu, we're going to go find Choco with you looking like that." She dragged him out the door and over to where Kirei stood waiting.

"I was worried you two might take longer," Kirei said after receiving a look from Darius. He wasn't going to comment on the overly pink look of the candy demon outfit. "This belongs to Choco," He handed Ember a white veil-like hat. "Hopefully you'll be able to find her."

Ember didn't answer and wandered off following the faint scent. The two tengu looked at each other before shrugging and following at a distance. She guided them downstairs. They continued going down past the second floor for Dynamo and Elites, the first floor member dorms, the ground floor meeting hall and dining room, all the way to the basement floor. They passed the indoor training rooms to a set of double doors. 

"The library?" Kirei asked curiously. "Why would Choco be here?" 

The three entered the library quietly. Inside were many members moving amongst the shelves looking at the books. Ember led them to an area with long tables. Immediately, Kirei dashed past her and latched himself onto Chocolatte, hugging her tightly from behind.

"Chocky…" Darius said sternly when he got closer. "Do you know how much trouble Kirei caused me this morning?"

"Sorry Dari," Chocolatte replied with a sigh. "But Master Liu asked me to learn some new skills so I could get stronger. He gave me 2 weeks to learn before he tested me on them."

"Master Liu?" Ember asked tilting her head before adding "Oh! Snowbunny! Really? Is Yukkii giving you a hand to get stronger?"

"Yes," Chocolatte said with a smile. She was a little concerned that Kirei had not yet let go of her. "Kirei?"

"That reminds me…" Darius turned on Ember who immediately shrunk back not sure what he was going to do to her now. "You skipped out on your training the other day." He grabbed her wrist. "You're going to do double today to make up for it."

Both Kirei and Chocolatte giggled watching Darius drag her away as she cried "Nuuuuuuuuu!" 

Once they had gone, Chocolatte turned to Kirei. "Sorry. I was so excited to be getting stronger that I forgot to come tell you."

"It's ok," Kirei buried his head against her neck. "Just… Don't do this to me again." Chocolatte patted his arm trying to comfort him. "I was afraid that what happened to Ember in the past happened to you. He's still out there and could come back and attack you."

"Who?" Chocolatte asked. It was the first time she had heard about Ember's past, however vaguely it was mentioned. She knew Kirei and Ember had known each other for a very long time and she knew there was an event that happened that caused quite a lot of pain in the pair of them.

"No one…" Kirei replied quietly. "You don't need to know. I'll protect you."

~~~~

Ember lay draped over one of the benches near the outdoor training arena. Her ears and tail drooped like as if they were wet as she tried to catch her breath. "Meanie…" she whispered. Darius had put her through a series of rather difficult training exercises and she was very tired and even more sore than she had been already. "I'm aching all over now instead of just only my lady bits."

He laughed at her and leaned over to pinch one of her ears playfully. "You've been lazy, wifey." She let out a huff in response that made him laugh even more. "Perhaps we need to look at your equipment again and increase the difficulty of your training."

"Weren't you going to nether today?" Ember asked trying to change the topic. She oozed off the bench like as if she was made of water and laid on the ground. She just wanted to curl up and go to sleep. 

"I'll go later," He picked her up and carried her over to centre of the training arena before setting her down on her feet. "Again." 

She looked at him with big puppy dog eyes. He smiled and waved his hand in a 'pay attention in front of you'. She rolled her eyes. He's immune to my eyes now. Sighing, she held Nether Candle in an offensive position and waited. The ground rumbled and she stared up at the monster Darius had decided for her to play with. Holy… Suzume stood looming over her with her wings outstretched ready to attack. I'm so dead!

She leapt into action, dancing and spinning, Nether Candle acting like an extension of her own body instead of an addition. She was gaining the upper hand until her phone starting to ping, distracting her.

"Focus!" Darius yelled at her when he noticed her falter. "You'll get hit otherwise."

Ember pulled her phone out with her other hand and threw it at him to get the distraction away. Darius caught it deftly and looked at what the message was that had appeared. The screen flashed red with an SOS. Flicking through, he say it was Zhillion who had sent it. Kings attacking him and Rain in Illu? Darting forward, he helped Ember get rid of the boss. She gave his a strange look. "You need to go to Illu. Zhil and Rain need assistance." He held up her phone to her with the red flashing screen. "It looks like Kings are trying their attacks again. You should be fine against them without me."

"What will you do?" she asked taking her phone from him and scrolling to the teleport button. 

"I'll go to nether," he replied as he kissed her forehead. "Call me if you need my help but I think you'll manage on your own." Ember nodded and pressed the button to teleport to Zhillion's location.

~~~

Darius flopped down on the couch. Another day of no luck trying to find upgrades for his equipment. His irritation came off him in waves. He had been to the forge with what little he had and managed to break some decent equipment. 

"Are you ok?" Ember asked him, a little timidly. She had seen him this irritable before but she wasn't sure how he would react to her. "I could help… Maybe try my technique while forging…"

"I have no luck," he replied with a sharp bite in his words that made Ember flinch a little. "It's not a matter of technique. No luck is no luck. Why put blame on self for no luck?"

"I was only asking a simple question," Ember's voice became heated. "No need to have a dummy spit at me because your luck is currently bad."

Darius looked up at her even more irritated than before. "I wasn't having a spit at you. I was just stating what I think."

"Well it felt like you were having a spit at me," Ember fired back. She could feel her anger rising in her. 

"Well… You think too much…" Darius replied. Silence spread between them. Ember bit her lip and tried to formulate the correct words to say.

"Right then…" Ember's voice wavered but remained steady. Tears prickled the corners of her eyes. "If that's what you think, I'm leaving before I say something I regret." She stalked off towards the door. Turning, she added "That hurt Darius…" Leaving the room, she slammed the door behind her. Darius sighed and leaned back against the couch. His irritation still holding him tightly in its grip.

Ember stalked down to the hotspring. Her steps became less pronounced and back to their usual light step the further she was from their bedroom. She knew that at least she needed time out before she tackled him again. She couldn't talk to him when he was in this heightened, irritable state. They would simply start snapping at each other again. Sitting down, she took her shoes and socks off and dipped her feet into the water before lying back on her tails to watch the clouds drift by overhead.

~~~~

The guild could sense something was wrong with the two. Neither were present as much as they had been during events and when they were they weren't close to each other. Sukablyet and Cav-Laoshi both decided to do some investigating. It felt strange to them that Ember and Darius both were avoiding each other.

"Momshie?" Cav-Laoshi plopped himself down next to Ember and waited until Sukablyet sat on her other side. "Did Popsie upset you? He keeps looking over here but you aren't looking back."

"Yes and no," Ember replied. "Yes he did hurt me a bit but also no because it's how he normally responds to things. Can be so blunt at times." She flopped back on her tails so that both tengu were in her line of sight. She smiled internally. 

Out of all the tengu in the guild, these two were a rare breed. Not only were they married to each other, but they were also the left-white right-black winged variety of tengu. Their temperament were always more collaborative and open than left-black right-white winged tengu. Envisioning her own tengu spouse and his left-black right-white array, she let off a mild sigh. He was protective and dominant. Though, and she would never openly admit this to anyone, she loved when he was like that with her.

"Then why are you staying away?" Sukablyet asked curiously. He had gotten use to seeing the affection between the two ever since Cav-Laoshi and him transferred from HiVN to League. It felt really strange to see the two of them apart.

"I'm doing something that he'll probably blast me for…" Ember replied with a small yawn. "Can you two keep a secret for me? Since it might take a while and I may need some help with easing Dari's worries."

"Anything Momshie!" Cav-Laoshi replied with a smile. He could sense Ember's tiredness and also her wish to tease and be playful. "Just what are you up to?"

"He got irritable because he's having the worst luck with improving his gears," Ember said with a small smile. "I just poked him at the wrong time and got told I think too much for my trouble. That did initially get me upset but I have a plan…" She quietly outlined her plan to the two tengu. She watched their expressions change from confused to bright and almost giggly. She knew she could rely on them to help her pull off this plan. "So… Going to help me out?"

League - Chapter 3

 Authors note: Make sure to check the main fanfiction page for gameplay to story changes so you are able to follow along.

Make sure to also check out the Yokai Tamer game page for more information and to play the game yourself

Please check the notes on the main page about the symbiotic relationship between kitsune and tengu. I'll be using this chapter to explore that a bit here and in future chapters.

Those who play this game with me, this is where the story will start to have a deviation from events in-game. I'll be taking inspiration from events in-game but to create a more interesting story, I'll be starting to ramp up the drama from here.

Pet: Meowball

Yukkii sat in his room watching Takoyakii play with Kirei's Meowball. He had asked them to look after it for a while since the cat had started to attack and damage furniture by scratching it to pieces. He wanted to cat-proof his room before he brought Meowball back. A soft knock at the door drew him out of his thoughts.

Takoyakii looked up. In the moment of her distraction, Meowball took the string she had been dangling in front of him and started to chew on it. Takoyakii sighed and got up to answer the door. "Darius, Ember," She said with a smile before giving a yell of surprise at the twin cuffs on Darius' wrists. "What happened?" She let them in and led them to where Yukkii sat watching them. 

"Nagi went on an impromptu journey," Ember explained softly. "He passed the leadership to Dari…"

"But I want to pass it to you, Yukkii. Ember and I can be your assist but I don't want to be leader," Darius said with a smile. Yukkii wordlessly reached out his hands and Darius took off the cuffs and passed them to him. "The room of the guild leader is yours."

Yukkii shook his head and smiled. Closing his eyes, he tapped into the magic of the guild and the building, commanding 2 identical rooms to be created. They watched as the room around them shifted becoming more spacious. Opening his eyes, he smiled before placing the single cuff back on Darius. 

"He says that because you two are co-leaders, there is no reason why the room of the guild leader and your bedrooms should be different. We don't need three rooms on this floor, only two." Takoyakii said with a slight tilt of her head. "So both rooms now look identical."

Darius shook his head but quietly accepted Yukkii's choice. Ember blinked confused at what just happened. "Did you lose your voice, Snowbunny?"

Takoyakii started laughing while Yukkii mock glared at her before silently laughing as well. "He did something to upset the Gods," Takoyakii explained as she tried to get her breath back. "So they've made him mute for a while."

"Oh…" Ember stared at Yukkii who shrugged is shoulders. "A mute guild leader. Well even if you didn't want the leadership, you wouldn't have been able to say no." Ember giggled before the others joined in with her laughter.

~~~

Ember skipped ahead of Darius after leaving Yukkii and Takoyakii's room. They had some morning tea with the pair and she was now bouncy with sugar. Darius followed wondering how to bring up the topic of their disagreement. He followed behind, not really paying attention to where they were heading. He came to an abrupt halt when he ran into her from behind.

"You know…" Ember said softly looking out over the hotsprings. "I never told you about my previous spouses before…"

Darius moved to stand next to her. "Shawn you mean?"

"No," Ember sighed. "You're my 4th spouse. I don't have the best luck when it comes to being married to tengu." He was silently listening. He didn't want to interrupt her flow. If she was going to open up to him then he didn't want to let her second guess or hesitate. "Kirei's known me ever since I met my first spouse, Assassin. He was so charming and sweet. Would always shower me with gifts. But all he wanted was a convenient playtoy. Always wanted sex. Nothing more. Didn't want to start a family. Whenever I pushed the topic, he would yell at me. Tell me that I'm not smart enough to look after a baby. That a baby with me would be just as worthless as me.  I felt trapped and couldn't see a way out. One day, he gave me his ring and said that he was going to his real spouse overseas. He couldn't handle having to train me anymore because I was a lost cause." 

Darius wrapped his arms around her pulling her close. Tears were streaming down her face. It took her a while to slowly calm down again. "My third spouse, Levi," She continued her voice slight muffled by his chest. "He was just like Assassin. Showering me with gifts and was also sweet and charming. But when something would go wrong, it was my fault. He was never to blame for any issues that happened. It was always me. It got to the stage that he started betraying me, lying about what I was like. Lying about everything. I forced a divorce with him. Kirei kept him away from me. He would follow me and stalk me, stealing items I'd find and trying to ruin my reputation with people I met. After Kirei nearly sent him to Takamagahara, he vanished. Kirei and I have been worried he might come back to try again." She sighed softly. "Kirei is more worried now that he has Choco at his side. He's worried Levi might attack her to get back at him."

She took a deep breath to steady herself. "Only you and Shawn have been the only spouses I've had that haven't tried to harm me," She rested her head against his chest again. "I only divorced Shawn because his first spouse came back. I thought it was only right for them to be together because Shawn had already had a daughter with her." Her ears twitched nervously before she added. "When you spoke to me, I felt like I was talking to Levi. Being blamed for choosing the wrong thing. Not being up to his standards. I became afraid of you attacking me."

"I wouldn't harm you Emb," Darius finally replied softly. He finally understood why Kirei and her were so close. He also finally understood just how fragile she was to words and how they are spoken. "I'm blunt and to the point. I don't mince words… I never have. But I'm not attacking you or blaming you for anything."

~~~

Meanwhile, Yukkii stood looking at the bookcase. He had an idea but needed a way to implement it. I could use Choco to test it out. He looked at the series of books on kitsune skills and battle techniques that Takoyakii owned. Tako? He called in his mind. As he turned he called again, Tako? Sighing, he gave a gentle smile.

Takoyakii sat dozing on the couch behind him. Her tails curled up around her like a blanket. He walked over to their bed and picked up a light cotton blanket and placed it over her, tucking the top in around her shoulders. He turned back to the bookcase and brought down the first book of the series and sat down on the other couch to look at the layout of the material. 

How long will she sleep for? He asked. A small voice let him know about an hour or two. Nodding, he took out his phone and flicked to Chocolatte's name. Meet me in my room in about 2 hours. I have something that might help you.

Carefully, he continued to flick through the book, his idea on how to help Chocolatte and other kitsune like Chocolatte to get stronger. If this worked, he planned to transfer the idea to help strengthen the weaker tengu in the guild as well. He had a feeling that this preparation will be needed in the near future. 

I just hope my feeling is wrong…

~~~

Chocolatte looked at her phone curiously as she made her way to Yukkii and Takoyakii's room. I wonder what this is about. She hadn't told Kirei about going to meet Yukkii but she figured that because he was a guild member that there wouldn't be an issue. Raising her hand, she knocked on the door.

"Choco! Come in," Takoyakii said inviting her inside. "Yukkii was thinking that we need to get the guild stronger." She guided Chocolatte to the lounge and invited her to take a seat. "The problem being, a tengu teaching a kitsune techniques is difficult. So he wanted you to work through my book series I got from my parents. He was hoping that once you're done, you can assist him with developing a more streamline and concise way to teach new techniques and skills to the guild kitsune."

Yukkii handed her the first book in the series with a smile. Chocolatte looked at him confused before starting to giggle. "You got yourself muted again!" Takoyakii and Yukkii also joined in her giggling and Yukkii nodded with a big smile on his face. "You also…" Chocolatte's face fell. "You have Nagi's cuffs…" 

Takoyakii sighed and briefly explained to Chocolatte what happened earlier that day. She could see Chocolatte was upset to hear the news of Nagito leaving without saying a word to anyone. "Yukkii says we'll do the books in fortnightly intervals. Work through the books. Learn what you can. Ask questions to any kitsune about things you don't understand."

Chocolatte's expression changed again to excitement. "I can't wait! I need to be stronger to catch up to all of you!"

Takoyakii placed a hand on her shoulder. "There's no rush Choco. Take your time. Better to be slow and steady than rush and be weakened because of it."

Chocolatte mock saluted the two. "Yessir!"

~~~~

Settling down for the night, a certain tengu had a particularly evil plan in mind. He waited until his kitsune stopped moving and snuggled up to his side like she usually did when they went to sleep before he started talking.

"Ember…" Darius kept his voice controlled and sounded concerned.

"Hmm?" She didn't look up at him. Her head rested on his chest, eyes closed, and was listening to his heartbeat.

"Did you forget something?" A sneaky smile played on his face. 

"I don't think I did…" She sounded mildly uncertain. "No. I don't think I forgot anything. Why do you ask if I did?"

Darius wrapped his arms around her and shifted his body until he was laying on his side facing her. Her eyes snapped open and found herself laying on one of his arms instead of his chest. Once he stopped moving she looked up at him.

"Are you sure?" She could see the sneaky smile on his face. Her ears pricked up into sharp points. He knew something she didn't. 

"I'm sure," she replied wondering where he was going with this line of questioning. 

"I assure you Ember," He lowered his head and kissed her on her forehead. "You've forgotten." His hand trailed down her back and rested just above the base of her tails eliciting a squeak from her. "And I'm going to remind you so you don't ever forget again…"

League - Chapter 2

 Authors note: Make sure to check the main fanfiction page for gameplay to story changes so you are able to follow along.

Make sure to also check out the Yokai Tamer game page for more information and to play the game yourself

~~~

Darius awoke the next morning to the feeling of something warm and heavy in his lap. Looking down, he saw a familiar pair of brown fox ears. Why am I not surprised… Sitting up, he eased her off him. Stretching and glancing at the clock, he rolled his eyes before leaning down to pinch her ear and pull it back slightly. "Ember…" His voice was rough and irritable. "Wake up Ember."

"Hmm?" She uncurled and looked up at him. "Oh… You woke up." She smiled slightly before she drew back to look at him better. 

"Why didn't you wake me for dinner instead of sleeping on me?" His expression was unreadable. Ember tightened her tails around her unconsciously. She felt threatened in that moment. This tengu knew a lot about her, including a bit about her hidden past, and she became afraid of him using it against her. 

"Sleep seemed like the better option," she replied trying to sound strong. She couldn't understand it. Why was this feeling of fear rising in her? 

Darius watched her closely before becoming more irritable. "I'm not attacking you. Why are you recoiling like that?"

"It feels like you are," Ember tucked herself in behind her tails and used them as a shield. She didn't want him to see her break. "Go eat then if you're hungry."

Darius once again opened his mouth to say something but decided against it and turned to leave the room, Just before closing the door he said softly. "Perhaps we should just speak less to each other." The door closed and she listened to his footsteps walking away. 

Tears rolled down her cheeks. She was afraid and hurt. She couldn't understand where this feeling was coming from. Getting up, she ran from the room and down to her old room before anyone else could see her.  She needed time out. Time to be alone. To work through why she got so afraid of him. 

~~~

Darius walked into the dining room and stared at the sight before him. This tengu… Closing his eyes, he went to turn and walk away before a hand grabbed him and dragged him into the room. "Totoy…"

Totoymola danced amongst the tables pulling people into the room as he watched them leave. It had been common knowledge that he had been slowly becoming more insane. Ever since his spouse, Pandan, left almost a year ago, his filter for things had slowly begun to diminish until it became the regular evening meal entertainment. Darius stared at the tengu as he swayed his hips and danced as if he was in a strip club.

I should have stay sleeping upstairs with Ember on my lap instead of watching this. Darius thought as he was dragged into a chair and a Totoymola gave him a cheeky wink. This tengu… Really…

Siegheart stood leaning against the wall nearby watching his friend's antics before speaking up. "You know that tengu that attacked you while you were helping the miko?"

"Yeah," Totoymola ran a finger along the table before continuing his dance, dragging others onto chairs so they could watch his performance. "He seemed to be on auto-pilot."

"He wasn't," Siegheart replied. His face remained neutral to the dancing tengu before him. "I killed him for you."

Totoymola came over and placed a hand on Siegheart's chest. "Bradass…" His voice was soft and grateful for his friend doing that for him. "I'll give you something nice." Dancing away, he blew a kiss at Siegheart before sending an Eternal Love gift via his mobile to him as well. "Bradass for life!"

Siegheart smiled slightly before continuing to watch the scene before him. "We ride together, Totoy."

Yukkii and Takoyakii stared at each other before rolling their eyes. "There's something about this Bradass thing these two have that we don't know about…" he whispered. Takoyakii nodded, uncertain how to respond to the situation before them. "It must be because neither of them have had any pewpew in a very long time."

They both watched as Totoymola focused his attentions on Darius once again, the latter looking unimpressed at being the recipient of the show this time. "I wonder if Ember knows that Totoy strips for Dari…" Takoyakii asked slightly louder so that Darius could hear her as well.

"She knows," Yukkii mimicked Takoyakii's volume. "She's already addressed it with Totoy and got a strip tease herself for her trouble." The pair laughed and Darius raised an eyebrow at the two of them before going back to looking unimpressed at Totoymola's antics.

Pet: Wood Crown

Ember sat in her room looking out the window. She watched League members going about their day. Absently, her hand pet Sushi Shiba who yipped happily at times from the attention. She didn't know how long she sat like this until Wood Crown interrupted her thoughts.

"Mistress…" The soft voice floated to her ears drawing her out of her limbo-like daze. "Mistress… You need to eat something." 

Ember shook her head. She didn't feel hungry. She felt numb and empty, a feeling that was all too familiar to her. She knew what happened now. Darius' aura had triggered her memories. She reacted in response to the memories and not him. She looked back out the window. Maybe its time…

Wood Crown sighed and floated down to sit next to Ember to keep a closer eye on her. Out of all of Ember's pets, she was the most intuitive and often would follow Ember when she went hunting. She waited, hoping that someone would come and draw Ember back out of her thoughts.

~~~~

That night, Darius laid in bed looking at his phone. Ember was once again on his mind. Her activity log on their shared guild forum told him she had not done any training that day. Sighing, he dropped his hand down and stared at the ceiling. Did I upset her that much? Shaking his head, he closed his eyes and tried to get to sleep.

After a few minutes of tossing and turning, he growled and got up again. He had heard of tengu being unable to sleep well without their spouse next to them but he didn't think it would be this bad. Stalking over to the wardrobe, he pulled on a robe and left the room. He had an educated guess as to where Ember was and he was going to move her back to their room if he had to.

Reaching the door to her old room, he paused and took a few calming breaths. The last thing he needed was to be more irritable when he spoke to her. Slowly, he opened the door. The room was dark with the light from Fire Crown being the only thing stopping the room from being pitch black. He glanced at the bed and found Ember asleep curled up against 2 pillows like how she would be positioned when sleeping next to him. 

"It took a long time to get her to sleep," A soft voice said in his ear. "Please don't move her. Sleep here with her."

Darius turned his head to find Wood Crown floating near him. "I didn't see you awake," he replied with a sigh. "Has she been here all day?"

"Yes," Wood Crown replied. She took hold of his hand and guided him to the other side of the bed. The other pets on Ember awoke as he passed. "My Mistress was triggered by her past. It's not something that can be helped until she learns to accept it."

Darius watched as the pets gently lifted Ember and moved the pillows allowing him to settle down and arrange his wings so they weren't in an awkward position before they set her back down at his side. He waited wondering if her sense of smell would wake her up, alerting her to his presence. Instead, he got a pleasant surprise. Ember purred softly in her sleep before snuggling up to his side like she usually did when they went to bed to sleep for the night. He felt the restlessness in his body settle down and he relaxed letting himself drift off to sleep.

The next morning, he opened his eyes feeling warm and comfortable. Ember had shifted in her sleep. Her back was against him and she was snuggled in again. Her tails were draped over him. He gently stroked one of her tails, enjoying the softness before his awareness of where he was smacked him hard. 

His eyes widened. The walls of the room were white, not the mauve of Ember's old room. No pets were to be seen anywhere in his line of sight. Rolling over onto his side so Ember's back was against his chest, he got a better look of the room. It looked like their bedroom… but bigger. The couch that used to sit under the window now was part of a pair and made a little corner library. A small table with 5 dining chairs sat in the centre of the room and on the table sat a shallow dish with Rumdul flowers in it.

He pinched Ember's ear and pulled it back towards him. "Ember…" he called. He didn't want to yell like Moon had but he also wanted her to wake up. Ember stirred making a little growling sound before settling again. "Ember. Wake up." Again, she stirred and flicked her ears taking it out of his grip. He pinched again, slightly harder, and pulled it back towards him. "Ember!"

"What?" she asked sleepily. She rubbed her right eye with a paw-like hand and shifted herself onto her back so she could look up at him. "Why are you in my room?"

"We aren't in your room anymore," Darius replied patiently. "I need your nose. I need to know where we are."

To his amusement, she reached up to grip her own nose as if to try and take it off to give to him. "It doesn't come off…" she replied confused. "You can't borrow my nose Dari. It's stuck to me."

He bit his lip trying not to laugh at the absurdity of the moment. "I need you to use your nose to find out where we are."

"Okie okie," Ember sniffed the air. She tilted her head and sniffed the air again. "All I smell is you." Darius flopped onto his back unsure how to respond to her now without getting frustrated. Ember's laughter caused him to shift himself back onto his side again to glare at her. "I was serious that all I could smell was you. You being so close actually floods my senses." She got up and continued to laugh. "Smile Dari. It won't kill you." Darius rolled his eyes and watched her walk around sniffing the air. "It's strange…" Ember paused at the corner library. "This place smells like our room but it isn't our room. It's larger… much larger…"

"Anything out of the ordinary that smells different?" Darius asked sitting up. His eyes kept drifting to the centre table. "Anything at all?"

"Other than those Rumdul flowers, which we didn't have in our room before…" she said trailing off and walking up to the bookcase and sniffed. "There's something here…"

Darius got up and pulled his robe around him before coming closer to her. "Something?"

"It smells like the Rumdul flowers," she replied sniffing before pulling a book out that was on guild management. "Here…" She opened the book to reveal a letter. Darius took the letter and opened it only for them to be blinded by a bright light. A soft thump could be heard before the light died down. Ember gasped and stared at Darius' wrists. 

"What!" Darius yelled staring at the twin cuffs that signified him as the Guild Leader of League. He looked at the letter still in his hand and pulled out the paper contained within. "Nagito…" he growled as he read the letter. Ember stepped lightly over to him and peeked over his arm to read the letter herself.

Darius,

I've gone on a journey. I want to see how kitsune and tengu in other countries live. I don't know if I'll be back so I place the leadership of League in your hands. I know the guild will be safe with you.

Nagito.

Ember blinked before looking around the room again and then back at Darius. "This is the room of the Guild Leader…" She stepped back from him slightly. "We were moved here by the Gods from my room because you were needed here to receive the leadership this morning," She bent down to pick up the single cuff that had fallen off Darius when the twin cuffs appeared. "I suppose," She handed him the single cuff. "Your first order of business is to elect a new co-leader."

Darius took a deep breath and sighed. "I have a better idea…"

League - Chapter 1

 Authors note: Make sure to check the main fanfiction page for gameplay to story changes so you are able to follow along.

Make sure to also check out the Yokai Tamer game page for more information and to play the game yourself

~~~

She opened her green eyes. She had dozed off again on the couch again. Her spouse would tease her for falling asleep again. With a sigh, she got up and walked over to the small kitchenette to make herself a cup of hot chocolate.

Ever since coming to League, so many things had changed. She still remembered the day passing the mantle of Guild Leader for Hope to Shawn and moving her belongings to an elites room in League. She had changed her signature outfit as well. From her yellow jacket dress and bows, to an elegant halter dress with long tails that rested on and accentuated her own tails. 

Walking back across the room and nestling back into her spot on the couch, she looked out the window to the training grounds below. She could see her spouse dancing amongst the monsters that spawned to help him improve his battle experience. It still felt like only yesterday that he had proposed to her.

"Ember?" She turned to look at the tengu calling out to her. She had been thinking while watching the water flow in the hotspring. She had seen him around a lot and recently they had gotten closer. She tilted her head at him curiously. "Ah, you mind?" He held out his ring to her.

"What happened to Hanae?" she asked turning to face him. "Last time I said to you that I would marry you if you ever wanted to, you said you were waiting on Hanae."

"Hanae is no longer in the guild," he replied looking a little sad. "She hasn't been for a very long time. No point in waiting." 

She stepped closed and smiled. "Then I would be honoured to marry you." 

He slipped his ring on her finger and waited for her to remove hers from around her neck to slide onto his finger. Leaning down, he kissed her thoroughly before picking her up and taking her inside.

The kitsune shivered remembering their alone time that lasted well into the late evening. Since then, they had spent a lot of time together. Getting closer and almost on the same wavelength when talking without discussing prior. 

Taking a sip of her hot chocolate, her thoughts drifted to Chocolatte and Kirei. Their room was next to theirs and more often than not the two tengu would compete with each other. Who could make their kitsune cry the loudest…

"Its not that I don't mind Kirei wanting a lot more alone time with me," Chocolatte blushed at the topic of discussion. The two kitsune sat with their feet in the hotspring. "But… I just wish it didn't have to be in competition with Dari and you."

"Tengu will be tengu," She laughed a little. "Personally, I don't mind it either. Dari is different when he's competing and when he isn't. But it feels so good regardless."

"True," Chocolatte flopped back onto her tails. "Kirei is like that as well. When he's trying to compete with the two of you, he becomes like an octopus. I can't help but squeal at how sensitive I get."

"I know the feeling," She mimicked Chocolatte and flopped back on her own tails. "But Dari also turns on his aggressive aura. It causes me to go into full alert mode and I get even more sensitive because of it."

"So is that why you always win?" Chocolatte asked with a laugh. "He's using your kitsune senses as well. Kirei doesn't do that. But if he did, I doubt he could beat Dari. Their strength difference is quite big now." She looked at Ember and then past her to the door to find two tengu watching them. "I wonder how long they have been there?"

"Not long," she replied sitting up again and flicking her tails happily as she waved to Darius. "Probably long enough just for both to hear you saying that you doubt Kirei will beat Dari."

"I just landed myself in hot water again, didn't I?" Chocolatte asked with a sigh.

"Yup…"

Again she shivered. Darius had given her a thorough workout again that night and didn't let go of her until his meeting the next morning. She had missed being with a tengu like that and now that she was with Darius, she wasn't going to let him go for anything. Her mind turned to their children. The appeal was made the night of their honeymoon. Neither wanted to waste time to wait. Now, Thaddy and Flame were both old enough to be more independent but still came to their parents every now and then.

She looked into her cup and sighed. To get more hot chocolate or not… She looked out the window to see her spouse watching Kirei battle the monsters. He was looking at his phone every now and then before looking up at the window. He looked impatient about something. 

The kitsune watched him curiously until she slowly became sleepy again and fell asleep curled up on the couch. Her cup fell from her hands and left a small trail of chocolate along one of her tails before landing on the floor.

"If you want to go see Ember then just go," Kirei said being slightly distracted from sensing Darius' mildly annoyed aura. 

"Its not that," Darius sighed before putting his phone back in his pocket. "She hasn’t done her training yet today."

"She might be waiting for Choco and Moon," Kirei replied patiently. "You know those three always practice together. Choco is playing with her horcrux since she's been neglecting them and Moon is visiting her spouse in Hope."

"I have a feeling that she's gone to sleep again and will forget to train," He sighed exasperated. "Does Chocky ever miss her training?"

"Don't know," Kirei replied with a smile. "She never asks me about training. I mean she never asked me about horcrux either. Ember taught her about that."

"That's because you didn't pay attention," Darius retorted folding his arms in front of him. "Emb said that she noticed Chocky was weaker than she should be at her level of experience. She probed with questions and found out that Chocky had been neglecting her horcrux and had a lifetime of horcrux shells that were just gathering dust in a box. You've been focusing on her gears and trumps. Maybe try taking an interest in the rest of your spouse's development."

"You have it easier," Kirei bit back at the mini lecture. "Ember is already strong in her own right. You just need to do some touches here and there."

"No," Darius shook his head. "When I married Ember, she was weaker as well then she could have been. Her focus was around her assists, like pets. You should of seen her bedroom before we were married. Pets everywhere! They came and went as they pleased in her room and they all bundled on top of her when she slept." He thought back to when he first came to find her to ask her to marry him. He had been surprised into forgetting about the question.

"Ember?" He could hear noise from the other side of the door. "Ember? Are you…" He pushed the door open and his jaw dropped. Pets covered the floor. Lady Flower and Lady Fortune both were fighting with each other just inside the door. Phantom Ghost and the Gemini twins were about to jump out the window. He looked around and spotted Ember's white tails sticking out from under a pile of pets that were sleeping on top of her. "This kitsune…"

Reaching down, he picked off the pets to uncover the kitsune he was looking for. Pulling her out of the pile, it took him a few moments before realising she was fast asleep and heavier than usual. Pets still clung to her and her tails in their sleep. Carefully, he picked each of them off before carrying Ember out of the room and into the communal lounge before setting her down again.

"I see you met Ember's menagerie," Siegheart said with a laugh. He had watched Darius come out of Ember's room carrying her. "There is a lot in there. Her pets don't like being with all the other pets and so they hang out in her room. She leaves a window open for them to come and go as they please."

"They were sleeping on top of her!" Darius replied exasperated. Leaning down, he gently shook her. "Ember!"

"What?" Ember rubbed her eyes with paw-like hands and looked around the room before looking at him. "I was having a good sleep."

"How? You were buried in your pets!" Darius sighed sitting down beside her. "Please tell me you give them all equal attention?"

"Uhh…" Ember closed her eyes again. "Maybe…"

Shaking out of his memory, he watched the final few minutes of Kirei's training.  "They still have her old room. They refused to leave it even after Emb moved into my room. She still goes in there and sleep only for them to sleep on top of her again."

"And you still go and retrieve her from there," Kirei replied stretching. "It is getting late. Let's go give our kitsune a prompt to get moving."

Chocolatte and Moon stood outside of Darius and Ember's bedroom. They had been knocking for a while but no response. 

"Maybe she's gone out…" Moon asked before reaching for the doorknob. She paused. "I know Ember was fine with us entering her old bedroom but she shares now with Darius… I don't know how he would be with us entering without permission."

"Depends on when you're entering," Both kitsune jumped at the sound of his voice. "In this instance, I think Emb is probably asleep. If you two are able to wake her then have at it. Ever since marrying her she's become more and more difficult to wake up."

"Ohh," Moon laughed. "That's easy. Ember should be easier to wake up than Chocowo or myself." Missing Darius' confused expression, she opened the door and walked in. She first glanced at the bed before looking around the room. "There are two types of kitsune. Kitsune with more human features like Chocowo and myself, and kitsune with more fox features like Ember."

Chocolatte looked up at Darius, who still looked confused, and continued Moon's lesson. "Kitsune like Mowon and me," She brushed her hair away to show her human styled ears. "Don't have the acute hearing that kitsune like Ember have." She turned to watch Moon pinch Ember's fox ear before pulling it back slightly and take a deep breath. "Just watch."

"WAKE UP!!" Moon yelled directly into Ember's ear. The effect was instantaneous. Ember swung her arm out to try and hit Moon for yelling in her ear. Moon, familiar with waking Ember up, already had jumped away.

"Must you always wake me up like that?" she asked rubbing the ear with a paw-like hand. "You're so loud and directly in my ear too." She looked at the two of them before sighing. "Training?"

"Yup!" Moon replied with a smile. Ember rolled her eyes at her and got up to stretch.

"Ember…" Darius' tone was patient and mildly amused. "You have chocolate on you."

"Eh? I do?" She spun in a circle trying to find it. "Where?" 

Darius came close and picked up one of her tails. "Here." Ember gave him an amused smile before going to clean off the chocolate. Just as she was making her way to the door, he spoke again. "Ember…" This time he sounded a lot more amused. "You might want to get dressed first." Ember looked down at herself before laughing and ducked into their ensuite. Darius sighed. "This kitsune…"

"Well… You married her," Chocolatte said with a good natured grin. "Ember was always absent-minded… And quite cute."

"Don't start," Ember stepped out of their ensuite with her usual halter-neck dress on. Her nether candle katana sat on her hip and she had both her shiki beads and horcrux shells equipped on her left wrist. Her right wrist sported the black cuff with League insignia that identified her as co-leader and her shikigami beads.  "Aight! I should be all in one piece now."

Darius waved his hand at her, partially as a 'see you later' and partially as a 'get to your training already'. Ember laughed and walked out the door with Chocolatte and Moon following not far behind. The three kitsune already chattering away about random topics.

He sighed and looked down at his wrists. His array of accessories were the opposite to Ember's. His own black cuff with League insignia was wrapped around his left wrist with all of his beads and horcrux shells on his right. He remembered the day Nagito surprised them with the cuffs.

Ember sat nestled in his arms as they watched the fireworks and Chinese lanterns fly into the sky. His head was resting on hers and he could feel her ears twitching every now and then, tickling his cheeks.

"Am I interrupting?" Nagito sat down next to them with a smile on his face. "There's something I wanted to talk to you two about."

"Oh?" Ember asked not opening her eyes. She had closed them enjoying the gentle stroking of her tail that Darius had been doing absent-mindedly. "Not interrupting much Nagi. Just some quiet time."

Nagito laughed before grabbing her right wrist and placing a cuff onto it. Ember's eyes snapped open. "Waaaah!" She was in time to see him place a cuff on Darius' left wrist. 

"What happened to God and Tako?" Darius asked looking a little uncomfortable with the cuff on his wrist. "Give the cuff back to Tako."

"They're both taking a leave of absence from their positions," Nagito looked a little shy at Darius' request. "I want you in the position."

Ember looked up at him before nuzzling her head under his chin. "If that's what Nagi wants… I can cover when you can't be present Dari." 

"Only until Tako can take the cuff back," Darius said with a tone of finality. Nagito smiled and nodded before getting up to wander off again to find Lhai.

"Stubborn Dari…" Ember whispered continuing to nuzzle him under his chin, her ears tickling him as she moved. 

He sighed and stepped over to the couch Ember had been sleeping on to pick up the cup that was on the floor. Glancing into it, he could tell she had been drinking hot chocolate. That explains why she had chocolate on her. Sighing again, he put the cup in the sink before dropping on the couch and closing his eyes. 

Chocolatte was right, Ember can be quite cute, but he also knew she could be quite impatient and demanding. However, he had expected that to happen. Kitsune could easily flick between being placid and playful to impatient and easily irritable. While Ember, for the most part, was playful; she had a side to her that was akin to her name and luckily it had not been aimed at himself yet.

He remembered back to when Ember's ire was directed at Chocolatte herself. It was one of the rare moments when he saw Ember's loyalty and devotion towards him when she questioned another kitsune about their partner.

"So many hearts and blushes…" Ember said her voice low and challenging. "I'd have to wonder whether you're looking for another partner Choco."

"I… What?" Chocolatte looked taken aback by the accusation. "No. I always do that to people I know."

"I always reserve hearts and blushes for Dari," Ember replied quietly. "Everyone else gets a smile or a wave." She turned her head slightly to look at Chocolatte out of the corner of her eye. "That sort of behaviour really makes me wonder if you appreciate Kirei. He does so much for you yet here you are blowing kisses to Argo when he isn't around. You've been flirting with Nagi. And you let Meilyn eat you!"

"I…" Chocolatte avoided Ember's gaze. "I appreciate Kirei. I don't deny that I've flirted with Nagi. But I always am like that to my friends and the thing with Meilyn was just a play on my name nothing more."

"Natural flirt then…" Ember said before getting up. "Be careful Choco. Kirei might take your proclivity to  treat friends like you would a lover the wrong way. Make sure you work out how to define the line between how you treat them and how you treat him." She turned and started to walk away. "I'd hate to see you two fall apart because of the lack of distinction."

Darius chuckled to himself. Chocolatte had looks so confused and surprised at the sudden topic change. But he had noticed she changed her behaviours. Kirei was first and foremost in her attentions and while she still was a natural flirt towards her friends, the extent wasn't as bad as it had been. He turned to watch the three kitsune out the window while he relaxed before the evening events.

Ember wandered back up to their room a bit tired. She had taken on three disciples and had put them through the wringer before coming back to see Darius so they could go to dinner and the evening fireworks together.

Stepping into the room, she took one look at her dozing spouse and smiled. "That looks like a good idea. Better than dinner." Carefully, She got onto the couch and snuggled into him. Her tails rested over both of them like a furry blanket and she drifted off to sleep.