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
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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.
