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The kitsune looked up at the silent sakura tree sitting just outside her guild's headquarters… Her home. Her short brown hair, done in a short bob, accentuated her brown ears with their light white on the tips. Her nine soft white tails drifted lazily in the breeze while she let herself be whisked away with her memories. She brushed the stray petals off her yellow outfit before heading inside.
"Ember?" The kitsune turned to the sound of her name. A tengu with bright blue eyes and dark hair approached her. "Are you ok? You sad today."
"It's nothing Shawn," she mumbled softly. "Shara's coming to stay today, isn't she?" Shawn nodded with a smile on his face. "Are you sure you want to leave things as they are?"
"It's ok Ember," He pulled her into a warm hug. "She understands." He paused, concerned by her lack of response to his hug. "Ember?"
"I'm…" she took a deep breath in before letting out a sigh. "I'm not ok with it. She was your spouse from so long ago. It's not right for us to compete for your attention." She placed her ring in his hand. "Make sure to make her happy."
Before Shawn could respond, Ember walked away and up the stairs to where the leadership team for her guild resided. Her heart felt heavy but she knew this was the right thing to do. Stepping into her room, she closed the door for some alone time.
Only a few hours had passed before there was pounding on her door. Ember tried to ignore it before a loud voice called out to her "Ember!" She recognized the voice of the blue eyed, white haired tengu that was her second in command. "Ember! Did you forget? We have a siege to get to."
Sitting up, she put on her twin bracelets and pearl necklace before opening the door. "I didn't forget. I just wanted some time out for a while." She noticed the tengu's eyes look down at her hand. "Shawn and I had a divorce. Shara's coming and she was his spouse before I came into the picture. It wasn't right for me to hold what is rightfully hers."
With a huff, he grabbed her wrist and dragged her downstairs to where the rest of the guild was waiting. "We need you. You've got the strongest aura out of all of us. Please don't fall apart on me." His voice was firm but also concerned and sincere. "They look up to you. At least, for the moment, show you aren't ready to crumble."
"Who are we against today?" She asked, choosing not to respond to his comments.
"League." he replied causing the guildsmen near him to groan. A kitsune with matching purple eyes and hair leaned against him and rolled her eyes. "I know Ohime…"
"We're going to be slaughtered!" A green eyed, purple haired kitsune said with an exasperated sigh. "They have all the strongest auras in their guild." Echoes of the same sentiment flowed through the group.
Ember, about to say something to try ease the negative emotions, was interrupted by a windchime sound from her pocket. Walking out of the room, she pulled her phone from her pocket and smiled at the screen before answering. "Hi Kirei,"
"Hi!" The bright voice of the tengu floated into her ear. Ember smiled. She loved it when Kirei would contact her. He always knew the right thing to say to her. "Ready for our battle?"
"The guild is already preparing themselves for a slaughter," she replied with a sigh. "You know League is stronger than us so why are you even asking that question?"
"Hahaha," Kirei's laugh sounded like it was echoing around her. "Just enjoy and it gives everyone battle practice for the CS League."
"I guess…" she said with a mock huff of exasperation. "See you on the battlefield."
"See you then!" She hung her phone up and no sooner as she had done so, the windchimes began again.
She blinked in surprise and looked down. "Levi?" Answering the call with a mildly bewildered look on her face, she turned and leaned against the wall. Calls from Levi were different to calls from Kirei. While Kirei was like a playful best friend, Levi's conversations with her were like that between close siblings. A wry smile formed on her face while he spoke to her. Unlike siblings, Levi was interested in one thing with her and made no secret of it. "You know, if I ever was single again, you would have to challenge Kirei for my hand."
"I don't know if I could win out against Kirei," Levi replied with a down but slightly mischievous voice. "But we won't know until you're single again will we. You've said you have something good going with Shawn and don't plan to leave him." Ember's heart tightened at that comment. Little did they know that news of her divorce would be getting out and cause a lot of disruption.
"Ember please don't kill me." A yellow eyed white haired tengu said with a wink and a smile as she darted at him with her sword. His eyes caught a glimpse of her bare hand and nudged a snow white kitsune beside him.
"If you want that Toto, then ask Godson and Darius not to kill me," Ember replied back playfully before cutting him down forcing him back to their guild safe point. "All's fair in war."
"Hey Ember!" The snow white kitsune said dancing around with her sword playfully dodging Ember's attacks. "You're single again. When did that happen?" Almost as if she had said it with a megaphone, the battlefield went silent. Ember's cheeks went red before spinning into another attack. She didn't want this to be known. Not now. "You and Kirei talk a lot. Why not marry him?"
"Kimber!" Ellie cried out with a laugh as she and Ohime rushed past then to try and attack one of the towers. Ember internally groaned… she had a shipping name now. "Yeah why not!"
Ember's face heated up even more when she came face to face with Kirei. His eyes were shining as they danced in battle before he sent her back to her guild's safe point. "Only if he's ok with it." she called out in response. She stayed in the safe point for a moment to try and calm herself before heading out again. Her luck was not with her. Once again, her and Kirei came up against each other in battle. Each time she came out of the guild safe zone, she could see Levi at a distance. His expression was unreadable. She cringed internally… This was not how she wanted things to happen.
When the battle was over, Ember felt like she was going to burst into literal flame. The teasing about being single and the pushing of her towards Kirei was more than she could handle. She flopped down in her guild's safe zone not planning to move again until she wasn't looking like a tomato. But even with her eyes closed, she could sense she wasn't alone.
"You're pretty popular amongst my guild," she knew this voice. It was the silver eyed guild leader of League, Nagito. "I can help. It can strengthen the bond between our guilds." He sat down next to her and waited for her to open her eyes. "What is it that you want?"
"I do prefer Kirei," she replied in a whisper. "He's helped me so much and is so much fun to be around." Her mind drifted to Levi's unreadable expression before she shook her head to clear it. "But only if he's ok with it."
Ember sighed and sat with her bare feet in the hot spring that wound around CS City, flowing through each guild territory like a chain connecting them all as one. The events of the evening playing in her mind. Flopping onto her back she looked up at the stars trying to work out what to do now.
Windchimes…
She was too tired to pick the phone up and just hit speaker. "Hello?"
"Hi Ember," Kirei's voice sounded different. Almost somber in tone. "How are you feeling after the siege? I wasn't expecting all of that to happen."
"Neither," she replied tiredly. "I don't know whether to be flattered or scared that I'm so well known with League." She moved the phone closer to her so he could hear her better through the speaker. "What do you want to do?
"I don't mind," he replied. His voice soft to her hearing. "When should we do it?"
"Saturday?" she asked. It was a few days away but it was the only free day she had to dedicate towards being with Kirei.
It was almost like she saw him nod. "Saturday. I look forward to it." She jumped in surprise as a floral heart popped up on her screen.
"Thankyou for the Eternal True Love, Kirei." she said with a smile.
A small laugh from his end before the call ended. Ember sighed and placed her arm over her eyes, heart making itself well-known in her chest.
More windchimes. She let them pass without answering. She wanted the moment to sink in before she pick up another call. No sooner had the windchimes died down that they started up again. She knew who this would be, calling her now. She wasn't sure how she was going to respond to him if he asked any hard questions. On the third ring of the chimes, she picked up.
"What happened with Shawn that you’re now single?" Ember sighed. She knew he would be a bit put out. He had recently married Pandan because she said she wasn't planning on leaving Shawn any time soon. Her silence must of worried him as his tone changed from questioning to concerned. "Ember?"
"Shawn's spouse… The one he had before he met me," her voice was hesitant. "She's coming back into the country and wants to be with him again. He said she understood he was married to me now…" she paused, she felt empty relaying this to him. She knew it was her choice. Ellie and Ohime said the same to her as well earlier. It was the right choice.
"I'm here Ember," Levi's voice soothed her, his tone the one he often adopted when she was upset or agitated about something. "I'm listening. I won't judge you."
"I didn't feel comfortable with it," she sigh feeling deflated like a popped balloon. "I didn't want to take what was rightfully hers." Tears made their way over her cheeks. She could feel her heart finally starting to realize what she had done. "I wouldn't have left him otherwise."
"Ember…" Levi's voice was soft to her ears. His tone was the same that Kirei had used earlier. "Do you… I mean…"
"I prefer Kirei, Levi," she said sadly. "I'm sorry. I just… I feel happy when he's with me."
"I understand… Truly I do, Ember."
~~~
Unknown to Ember, Shawn had heard everything. He was still ruffled by her returning her ring to him without giving him much of a chance to reply. He rested his head against the pillar he was hiding behind. "I understand as well, Ember…" Turning he walked back inside leaving Ember on her own. He didn't need to talk to her anymore.
Walking to his room where the Elites were placed, he flopped onto his bed with a sigh. Tomorrow Shara was moving in and joining the guild. To help Ember move on and to give her choice meaning, he had to propose to Shara. While his heart hurt from Ember leaving him, he was also happy that his sweet kitsune would be back in his arms again as his spouse.
Kyaaa😍
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