League - Chapter 11

 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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Ember stared at the tengu who stood before her. His hands were clasp in front of his body and he held himself in a pose of a demure little girl.  Another laugh sounded near her.

"I'm sorry Ember," XiaoChiChi and DaDiDi appeared from behind the tengu. "I had hoped to keep this a secret."

"I'm not a secret!" The tengu said in a high voice. He sounded very upset for XiaoChiChi wanting to keep him a secret. "I've never met her before who is she?"

"This is Ember," DaDiDi replied with a gentle smile. "She is the Guild Leader of League."

"Oooooh! Just like my brother," The tengu said with a little giggle. He looked at Ember. "He's the Guild Leader of Rogue you know."

It took a lot for Ember not to laugh at the tengu. There has to be a reasonable explanation why he… acting like this… She glanced at XiaoChiChi before looking back at the tengu. "So you know who I am, but who are you?"

"My name is Princess Rig," He let out a little shy giggle. "Or Princess for short. I've been looking for my brother for sooooooo long but I can't seem to find him." He looked at Ember with wide puppy dog eyes. "Have you seen him?"

Ember was uncertain how to respond to him. He… She… How do I tell her that she is him? 

XiaoChiChi came to her rescue. "Ember would have last seen Rig at dinner," She gently patted Princess' shoulder. "Your brother isn't a guild leader anymore. He made the decision for us to come live with Ember and League. He wanted to protect everyone."

"I see…" Princess started to cry. "Big brother soooooo gooood to everyone! He gave up his leadership for everyone! But I want to see him tooooo!" His tears began to flow faster. "I WANT TO SEE MY BIG BROTHER!!!" 

Ember stared in disbelief as Riggles went from normal upset to panic attack levels of distress. About to reach out to try and calm the crying tengu, she was stopped by XiaoChiChi. "Wait." Riggles continued to cry until suddenly he passed out. XiaoChiChi sighed and turned to Ember to explain. "We don't actually know why Rig has this little girl persona. But when she appears, Princess doesn't know she is actually Rig."

"So like a split personality," Ember mused staring down at him as he groaned slightly. "Does Rig know about Princess?"

"Fuck! My head," Riggles groaned carefully sitting up from his crumpled position on the floor. "I know about Princess. Painfully aware of Princess."

"But why does she exist?" Ember asked, her previous low and moping mood replaced with her usual curiosity. "I mean you turn into a cutesy anime girl when she's present."

Riggles gave an involuntary shudder. "I don't know. Chi just told me to stop acting like a girl one day and then I started to lose track of time. I would be doing something then find myself somewhere else. Chi and Didi discovered that when I lost time she took over. Taken a long time to become more aware of what is going on when she's around." 

Ember smiled. "She calls you her big brother."

"I don't have any siblings," Riggles stood up and shook his head. "Kitsune and Tengu aren't born in families, remember? Unlike our own children, we just are blessed by the Gods and brought into existence."

"Doesn't stop us from creating our own little families," Ember replied folding her arms. "Choco had a fondness for calling Dari, Grandpa, for a while. Cav and Sukab both call me Mum at times. So maybe she's adopted you as her brother."

"I've never met anyone like her so how she exists… Fucked if I know…" Riggles sighed. He looked up at Ember. "It's the middle of the night. What are you doing here?"

"Uhh…" Ember looked away. She didn't want to answer him. 

"You know moping isn't going to make him come back faster," Riggles scolded her mildly. "It will make the time go much slower."

"I know…" 

***

The next day, DaDiDi sighed as he waited while Vampira patched up the remaining cuts and scratches. Beyond the door, he could hear Riggles and XiaoChiChi arguing with each other. XiaoChiChi and him had been hunting when they were interrupted by Riggles and he had been killed. On respawning, he found that he still had scratches on him from XiaoChiChi's sword.

"Why the fuck were you slapping me for?" Riggles snapped irritated that he had minor cuts on himself that mildly stung.

"YOU SLAPPED MY BOSS FIRST!" XiaoChiChi fired back. Had she of been a cat her fur would have been standing on end. 

"Sorry," Riggles grumbled. I wasn't paying attention to where I was going."

"AND YOU INTRUDED ON MY DATE WITH DADIDI TOO!" XiaoChiChi roared still angry at what had transpired. 

"You actually do some decent damage to me tho," Riggles said trying to placate the angry kitsune in front of him.

"I KILLED MY DATE COS OF YOU!" XiaoChiChi was in tears now. She didn't like hurting DaDiDi. She doted on him as much as Darius did with Ember.

"I didn't mean to Chi," Riggles replied softly. "Didi is ok. Vampira can patch him up good."

"Are you two still arguing?" DaDiDi asked finally walking out of the infirmary. "I'm fine." XiaoChiChi gave DaDiDi a hug, burying her head against his neck. "What am I going to do with you…"

Riggles raised an eyebrow at the two in front of him before letting out a small chuckle. "Well… You married her."

***

Kirei skidded down the snow-covered slope of Illusory. He was tired and spots were floating in front of his eyes. It had been a long time since he had been back home. What am I doing? He sat down in the snow with his sword resting in his lap. This isn't going to bring Choco back… 

He looked up at the sky and sighed. How is Ember dealing so well without Dar here? Did I miss something? Kirei's heart felt heavy. Choco… 

Exhaustion finally caught up to him. Feeling like he had been doused in cold water, Kirei fell onto his side. It wasn't long before the darkness of sleep overtook him.