~ Aika accidentally adds kidnapping to her criminal record
Aika stood at the mouth of Kazuki's den, peeking out like a criminal debating whether prison was better than whatever the forest held.
The trees whispered ominously. The wind howled. A distant roar echoed.
She shivered. "Yup. I'm dead either way."
[ESCAPE QUEST ACTIVED.]
"Yeah, yeah, I know. I'm going."
She tiptoed forward, hugging the cave wall like a badly trained ninja. Leaves crunched. A twig snapped. A squirrel saw her and fainted.
Aika hissed, "I AM trying my best!"
[FAILURE DETECTED.]
"Shut UP!"
She crept deeper into the woods, eyes wide, hyper-aware of anything that could kill her.
Then she saw it.
A tiny, snow-white creature the size of a fluffy loaf sat trembling under a glowing crystal vine. Its tail was bushy, its little ears flicked pitifully, and its gemstone-blue eyes shimmered with tears.
Aika gasped.
"A BABY PUPPY!"
The creature blinked up at her.
Aika dropped to her knees. "Ohhhh my god, look at you! You're like a marshmallow with legs! Who left you here?!"
The creature whimpered.
Her heart exploded.
"I must protect you."
[WARNING: DO NOT TOUCH THAT.]
Aika ignored the system, as always.
"I'm naming you Mochi."
She scooped it up into her arms. The creature squeaked, tail thumping her chest.
Then—
ROOOOAAAAARRRRRR—
The ground trembled. Leaves shook loose from branches. Birds fled the sky.
Aika hugged the fluff ball tighter. "Don't worry, Mochi, mommy's got you."
[REPEAT: PUT THE CREATURE DOWN.]
[IT IS NOT A PUPPY.]
Aika rolled her eyes. "It's literally a puppy. You're glitching again."
The system tried one more time.
[IDENTITY: SHIRANUI—]
Aika smacked her interface. "STOP spoiling the lore!"
She ran deeper into the forest with Mochi in her arms, convinced she was saving an abandoned baby animal.
*
~ Kazuki Hunts (and is One Second from Losing His Mind)
On the opposite side of the woods, Kazuki was ripping through vines with enough force to terrify the creatures that dared trespass in his territory.
His claws glowed silver. His aura crackled like a storm ready to explode.
He'd left the human for TEN MINUTES.
Ten.
And what did he sense the moment he returned?
Silence.
Emptiness.
Her scent trails rushing into the forest like a toddler who escaped daycare.
"She left the den."
His voice was dangerously calm.
He looked down at the forest floor and saw it:
A tiny footprint.
Another.
And then a second scent.
Kazuki froze.
"…No."
He sprinted. Trees bent when he passed. The wind turned into a violent gust. Ground animals threw themselves down and played dead.
Ahead, he could feel it:
Aika + baby Shiranui + pure catastrophe.
He snarled.
"If she touched him—"
*
~ Aika's Parenting Debut (It's Not Going Well)
Aika reached a clearing where sunlight pooled over moss and glowing mushrooms. She set the fluffy creature in her lap.
"There, Mochi. You're safe now."
The creature sniffed her. Then it burrowed into her stomach fluff-first.
Aika melted.
"AWW, HE LOVES ME."
[HE DOES NOT.]
She booped its tiny nose. "Look at my face. I am your mother now."
The creature chomped her finger.
"OW—Mochi! No biting!"
It huffed indignantly and bit her again.
"Mochi—baby—sweetheart—STOP—"
It began glowing faintly. Blue flames—tiny but very real—puffed out of its fur.
Aika froze. "Mochi… why is your butt on fire?"
[LAST WARNING: THAT IS NOT A PUPPY.]
Aika panicked.
"Oh god—oh god—my baby is overheating—"
She smacked the flames with her bare hands.
The creature blinked and sneezed a spark.
Aika screamed.
"YOU'RE DEFECTIVE!"
The little beast growled like a demon in a Disney movie.
Then—
A shadow dropped into the clearing.
And the ground cracked beneath the weight.
Aika looked up slowly.
…Kazuki.
In full beast form.
Silver mane whipping in the wind.
Crystal-blue eyes glowing with murder. Fangs bared. Aura so powerful it warped the air.
She squeaked. "H-Hi sweetie I can explain—"
Kazuki's gaze fell to the creature in her arms.
The world went silent.
Aika said the words that sealed her fate:
"I found a stray puppy!"
Kazuki's eye twitched so violently it could've opened a portal.
Kazuki shifted—still monstrous, but in his humanoid alpha form. His voice was low, lethal.
"That," he said slowly, pointing at the fluff ball, "is my nephew."
Aika stared at the creature.
Then at Kazuki.
Then at the creature.
"…Nephew? Like… genetically?"
Kazuki inhaled sharply. "Yes."
"So not a puppy."
"NO."
Aika's mouth opened. Her soul left her body.
"Mochi," she whispered, "you're royalty?!"
The baby Shiranui nuzzled her again, flames flickering happily.
Kazuki's jaw dropped.
"He… likes you."
Aika beamed proudly. "Of course he does! I'm very likable! And soft!"
Kazuki dragged a hand down his face.
"That is the future heir of the Shiranui bloodline… and you tried to smack his flames."
Aika nodded. "Motherly instinct."
Kazuki gave her a look that was 50% disbelief, 50% rage, 100% "I should just go extinct."
"You kidnapped the child of an S-rank Shiranui. Do you know what that means?"
Aika gasped dramatically. "I COMMITTED TREASON?!"
Kazuki: "…Yes."
Aika hugged the baby. "I didn't mean to commit treason! I thought he was a lost puppy!"
Kazuki pinched the bridge of his nose. "Put him down."
The baby Shiranui hissed and clung to Aika's shirt.
Kazuki froze instantly.
"…He rejected me?"
His voice cracked.
Aika gasped. "Mochi… did you just disown your uncle?!"
The baby growled at Kazuki again. Kazuki stepped back, devastated.
"I am the alpha of this forest…"
Aika pet the baby's head. "Looks like I'm alpha's alpha now."
Kazuki stared at her.
Stared.
"…You are the most dangerous creature I have ever met."
Aika puffed her chest proudly.
Then tripped on a mushroom and faceplanted with the baby still in her arms. Kazuki walked toward her, shadows wrapping around him.
"Human."
Aika looked up, dirt on her face.
"Yes?"
He stared at her.
At the baby curled into her.
At the way the child nuzzled her scent.
At the forest reacting to her presence like she belonged.
Something primal stirred in him.
Unwanted.
Uninvited.
Unbreakably instinctual.
"…You are dangerous," he muttered.
Aika blinked. "Me?"
Kazuki's voice dropped, rough and low.
"Yes. You make Shiranui beasts… attach to you."
"Is that bad?"
"For my sanity? Yes."
Aika smiled gleefully.
Then—
The system chimed.
[NEW QUEST: WIN THE BEAST KING'S TRUST]
Reward: Safety
Penalty: He murders you.]
Aika squeaked.
Kazuki raised one eyebrow.
"What did your imaginary friend say this time?"
Aika cackled nervously. "N-Nothing!"
Kazuki leaned in close, breath brushing her cheek.
"Human," he growled softly, "you will stay where I can see you."
Aika swallowed.
"…Yes, sir?"
His eyes glinted dangerously.
"Good."
He picked up both her and the baby with one arm each like they weighed nothing and began walking back to the den.
Aika screamed, flailing.
"WHY AM I BEING CARRIED LIKE LUGGAGE AGAIN?!"
Kazuki didn't even look down.
"To keep you from committing treason a second time."