[Kitsuna Pov]
"So you guys arrived here in the morning already?" I said, walking next to Mother toward the Anabalds' mansion, where the plane was waiting. The air smelled faintly of fuel and trimmed garden hedges, and the gravel crunched softly under our boots.
"Yes, it only takes us 8 hours to get here," Mom explained, tilting her head slightly as she looked up at me with that ever-so-smug smile that said, "See how much easier I had it than you?"
"Really, that fast? It took us at least a month to get here." I sighed, ears twitching in frustration as I remembered the long days of travel, monster ambushes, and sleeping in damp forests.
"You mean 2 months," Mom said, correcting me without hesitation.
"We got distracted, okay," I muttered, looking away and fiddling with the strap of my weapon harness.
"By what, hmm?" Mom hummed, the sound lilting like she was coaxing a confession out of a guilty child.
"The devil cult."
"... And?" Mom pressed, her tone dipping lower, clearly not satisfied.
"What do you mean, 'and'? It was only the devil cult that delayed us," I said, tilting my head at her, ears falling flat as I tried to act innocent.
"Oh, so no sexual stuff happened then?" Mom asked, sounding disappointed, like I had just ruined her favorite soap opera twist.
"No, that only happened here in the city," I said quickly, feeling my face grow hot. The tips of my ears burned, and I hated that I knew she noticed.
"Hmm, so how far have you guys gone?" Mom said with a teasing grin that promised torment.
"Wha-what? "Don't tease me, Mom," I whined, flopping my ears down in embarrassment. My tail even twitched behind me like it was betraying me.
"Oh, come on, do tell your mother. I won't tease you too much if you do."
"Why would I tell you if you are going to tease me about it anyways?" I said, annoyed, quickening my pace only for her to match it effortlessly.
"Please tell me. I am so curious," Mom said, her eyes practically sparkling. She actually skipped a step, which made her look like an overgrown kid begging for candy.
"Tch, we only kissed," I muttered, clicking my tongue, my words short and sharp as if saying them quickly would make them less humiliating.
"You? You only kissed her? You shared a hotel room to only kiss each other?" Mom said this with her brows furrowing in disbelief and her tone growing sharp.
"Yes," I said, looking away, my voice cracking slightly.
"I knew you were slow, but this isn't even comparable to someone working at a snail's pace," Mom said, throwing her hands in the air, her voice dropping into that deep, annoyed register she reserved just for me.
"What did you expect? We go into a half-married couple in a few months or something!?" I shouted back, flustered beyond repair, more than annoyed now.
"Yes, yes, I did expect that. Especially after you easily started to trust her," Mom yelled back, shocking me.
"Ugh, no, I won't fall for this soulmate bond that easily!" I said, standing my ground even though my tail was tucked low.
"... You can't be serious?" Mom's face dropped, frustration evaporating into sheer bafflement.
"I just don't trust it," I said, awkwardly looking downwards at my feet, ears twitching nervously.
"No, no, it can't be. Do you actually think the soulmate bond is manipulating your feelings?" Mom asked, her voice lower but sharp, cutting through the air like a blade.
"..." I didn't answer. I couldn't.
"This dumb daughter of mine, you are fucking primordial. Do you think—" Mom snapped, her voice rising again.
"Shut up. I would rather not hear it. Okay, I already know... "I am just not sure," I said, interrupting her, putting my hands on my ears, and making sure no one around us caught that dangerous word, primordial.
Slap!
"Eh?" I froze, baffled, my cheek stinging.
"Sorry, I just had to," Mom said while puffing her cheeks and pretending to sulk, although her eyes gleamed with satisfaction.
"Why?" I mumbled, touching my cheek, ears drooping.
"Because you were annoying," Mom said simply, looking away and crossing her arms like a child caught doing something wrong.
"How was I being annoying? I wasn't doing anything," I muttered, the last part under my breath.
"You are dense. Your saying you weren't doing anything is precisely the point."
"Huh? You're making me more confused, Mom," I whined, grabbing her shoulders and shaking them lightly.
"Don't worry. You'll understand someday," Mom said, grinning knowingly, infuriatingly smug.
"Ugh, why did you have to be like this?" I muttered as she opened the main gate to the Anabalds' mansion.
"Mother!"
"Oof, why did you jump into me!" I yelled, annoyed, looking down at Apricot, who had just flung herself into my stomach.
"I missed you, Mother!" Apricot said, burying her face in my clothes, her fluffy tail wagging like an excited puppy.
"Apricot, you are annoying," I said, kicking her lightly off me.
"Ow, Mom, don't be so mean," Apricot said, rubbing her side dramatically as she pouted on the ground.
"Stop calling me that."
"You are so mean. I am going to Kayda to complain," Apricot huffed, sprinting off like a child tattling to a teacher.
"I guess Kayda is here," Mom said beside me, dark energy seeping out of her like smoke.
"Please don't hurt her too much, Mom," I said, smirking despite my words.
"You really are the worst sometimes," Mom muttered, but she laughed anyway.
"Well, anyways—oh, hello, Nekro. How are you doing?" I said, feeling small hands latch onto my back as Nekro climbed up and settled onto my shoulder.
"Uh, good, I guess," Nekro mumbled, nodding and nestling against me like a perched cat.
"That's pleasing to hear. Did you guys train well?" I asked, patting her leg.
"Y-yes," Nekro stuttered, shrinking a little, her voice nervous as if the answer wasn't good enough.
"Ah, is that it?" I said, glancing at Mom. She was glowing with pride like she'd done something amazing, which only made me more suspicious.
"Well then, I'll leave you for now. Let me get Kayda before she gets away again," Mom said, darting off with terrifying speed in the same direction Apricot had gone.
"Sigh, she really is a demon," I said, glancing at Nekro perched on me.
"The worst. She's the worst and scariest demon I've ever seen," Nekro muttered, a grey cloud practically hanging over her head.
"Well, that's not hard to bet. You haven't seen a lot."
"Captain, you are a close second."
"Ugh, there's no way I am like my mother."
"That's right. You aren't. Your appearance alone makes you scary enough to be close to the top," Nekro said flatly, not even blinking.
"Ugh, you're so mean, Nekro," I whined, drooping my head.
"I'm only stating the truth," Nekro said, grinning slightly.
"Sigh, now you sound like Kayda," I muttered, rolling my eyes.
"Well, I don't mind that," Nekro said dreamily, clearly looking up to Kayda.
"Huh, and why is that?"
"Kayda is cool," Nekro explained briefly.
"And I'm not?" I raised an eyebrow, flicking my ear toward her.
"I thought we already clarified this, Captain. You're scary, not cool," Nekro replied without hesitation.
"Tsk, whatever. How's it going with the other three?"
"That—I'll leave it to you to find out, Captain," Nekro said, clamming up quickly.
"Sigh, I guess something major happened to the three then," I said, pushing open the door. Immediately, cheers and weird noises echoed.
"You can do it, Apricot!" Brenda, Sirona, and Chinada cheered in unison.
Looking over, I saw Apricot desperately dodging Mom's slaps while Kayda used her as a human shield.
"Kayda, why are you using someone as a shield?" I said this while flash-stepping behind her and grabbing one of her wings.
"Oh, Kitsu, help me! Stacy wants to kill me," Kayda whined the instant I appeared.
"Yeah, no," I said, yanking Apricot's tail to pull her back while shoving Kayda forward toward Mom.
"Hey, no, Kitsu! How could you do this to me!"
"Oh, thank you, my daughter," Mom said, happily grabbing Kayda.
"Don't go too far," I warned, narrowing my eyes.
"You traitor, how could you?" Apricot hissed at me from the floor.
"She betrayed me first."
"Why is this sounding like a storybook right now?" Nekro muttered thoughtfully.
"Nekro?" I asked, confused.
"What? Just think about it. One leaves the other behind, but the survivor takes revenge on the one who abandoned her," Nekro explained seriously.
"... That doesn't sound like a story, though. If it is, it's a terrible one."
"Is it, though? Many people like revenge stories," Nekro countered, smiling faintly.
"Yeah, but here no one dies. So no one will like it or classify it as a revenge story."
"That's true... but can you please let go of Apricot's tail? She looks like she's in pain."
"Oh yeah, my bad," I said, releasing her and scratching my cheek sheepishly.
"Thank you, Nekro, you saved me," Apricot said, clutching Nekro and pulling her down into a hug.
"It's okay, don't worry about it," Nekro said, patting Apricot's head gently.
'Yeah, they somehow fit together,' I thought, watching the two of them sit on the floor, oddly comfortable.
"Well, whatever. So how's it going with you three?" I asked, turning to the trio of cheerleaders.
"Ah, my queen, it's going good," Chinada said, smiling nervously.
"Hmm," I hummed, eyes narrowing as I noticed she was wedged between Brenda and Sirona, who weren't giving her any space at all.
'It feels weird that those two aren't next to each other,' I thought, tail flicking suspiciously.
"Well, how about you two? Anything new?"
"Ah, not really," they both said in unison, their tones eerily similar.
"Sigh, you guys are so fucking boring. It's been a few months, and all you say is nothing has changed or is going well," I said, my eyes narrowing dangerously.
"Oh no," Chinada whispered, trying to inch away, but Brenda and Sirona blocked her.
"Oh yeah, all of you are going to suffer now," I declared, summoning ice chains that lashed out and wrapped around them. With one sharp motion, I flung them out the mansion windows, the glass shattering into glittering shards.