Kunou was bored. So incredibly bored. Mind numbingly so. She looked around at the mountain of books and paper filled with neatly written characters. These endless wave of paper had been her staunch company for what felt like a few weeks now.
After being told how dangerous it was for her to be out there in the world without learning how to control her Divine Pressure, the young girl had been essentially grounded until further notice. And her mother saw it as a reason to pile on all her recently missed classwork.
'I miss the smell.'
Kitsune had an incredibly sense of smell due to their vulpine heritage, so it wasn't strange that she had grown accustomed to smelling the scent of the masses on her daily walks. The freshly picked fruit, food and the general smell of people all together. The near suffocating smell of ink and paper only made her stay feel more like a prison sentence than anything else.
She knew this was for the best but…
'Would it really be that bad?' The teen thought as she looked longing at the exit to her imprisonment,' It shouldn't be right? Plus besides, I can just...walk out those doors at any time.'
But she could only shake her head to dispel those rebellious thoughts. The multiple warnings both Master Yamato and her mother gave still echoed endlessly in her head.
'I could kill som-well, everyone.' The young Kitsune slumped, allowing those fluffy tails to wrap themselves around her like some kind of hairy cocoon. She loved her people and culture. She would eventually rule over these people in the distant future, it wouldn't do if she became known as a mass murderer. No one would ever trust her, even if she made strides to fix that image.
They would forever look at her cautiously, like she was some kind of rabid animal.
For what felt like the thousandth time, Kunou sighed heavily and turned her attention back to the pile of paper that she could've swore grew in her lapse of inattention.
Her eyebrow twitched as golden orbs glared a hole into the inconspicuous pile. Just as she was preparing to disobey her mother's commands and summon a massive fireball to turn the impudent stack into ash, a knock on the door interrupted the showdown.
She was momentarily shocked and at first didn't know what to fully do here. The girl had been isolated for what felt like years and only her mother visited her, and she never knocked. Just barged right in no matter how embarrassing.
'Are there some maids who didn't get the memo?'
"H-hello?"
Kunou hated how her voice slightly croaked at just those simple words, but she couldn't help it.
"Kunou-sama?" A muffled but sill familiar voice asked through the paper door, the figures shadow only adding to that familiarity. The shadow was on the slim side but still enviably more than her own frame, a pair of tails swooshing through the air behind the figure and finally a pair of triangle shaped years that twitched slightly. "It's Riko, may I come in?"
A series of warring emotions filled her heart; elation at seeing her friend again, anxiety at her seeing how dirty her room was, confusion as to why the girl was here and finally, fear so deep that it nearly swallowed her whole.
'She shouldn't be here,' The Kitsune nearly scrambled back further into her room, dread at the possibility of accidentally killing her friend spiked,' Distance should lessen the burden, right? If I get far enough, maybe-'
"Please," Riko's voice slightly wavered as her figure leaned heavily on the door," Please let me in… I-I don't know what to do…"
Polarizing forms of concerned warred internally as she heard that hitch to the Nekomata's voice, the usual mischievous tone that she was known for was no longer present. Now she just sounded...defeated? Traumatized?
"It's not safe for you," Kunou hesitantly called out," I can't risk hurting you."
"Master Iori sent me after..."
Riko hiccuped and didn't continue. Her figure now slid down the door as the soft sobbing sound prickled at the Kitsune's ears.
Before she even knew what was fully going on, she already had the door open and fully embraced the young Yokai. Who no longer held back her back and simply wailed into the princesses casual kimono. She didn't mind the deluge of tears, snot and drool as she rocked the girl back and forth. Her sobs were heavy, ripped bloody furrows through the heart. Leaving ghastly scars that could shake up even the most life-harden people.
Kunou didn't say anything and only continued to rock the sobbing Yokai with soothing movements. She had no idea how long they sat there on the floor, but eventually Riko's sobs turned into nothing but soft breathing. Seeing this, the princess dragged her into the room and sat her down at a nearby table.
The Kitsune then rummaged through her small cabinet and pulled out a small wooden box. Setting it down, she opened the lid and showcased the small tea-set that her mother had gotten her all those years ago. It had a small white, teapot with a few cherry blossom painted across it's surface and an even smaller box that popped open and flooded the room in it's herbal aroma.
"I hope cold tea will be fine?"
She didn't have a way to heat up anything without her use of Youki and figured the girl really just needed something to drink more than anything else.
The Nekomata only nodded and took one of the palm sized teacups, and raised it up in shaky hands. The pair drunk the ice cold, peach flavored tea in silence. Golden eyes roved over her impromptu guest.
Despite how mean it sounded, Riko had seen better days. Her clothes were rumbled and showed signs of a skirmish of some sort. A few cuts here and blotches of dirt there. Her usually pale skin looked more like thin paper, heavy bags under her puffy eyes and ever once silken black hair seemed a bit waxy. Twin pairs waved through the air in a jerky pattern as the girl silently sipped at her cup.
Kunou didn't want to pry and push the girl over the edge, so she was content with letting this silence continue despite how the concern etched at her very being.
"...I was foolish." But it seemed Riko wasn't willing to let the atmosphere lie. "And so were the Elders."
The Kitsune didn't respond, not just because she had no idea what to say in response to that statement but also because she felt that girl wasn't done.
"I shouldn't have told them about the training…" She continued, black slit eyes locked onto the swirling mixture," It only added further fuel to the fire after their disastrous attempt. Some of the heirs...they felt jealous that I, some random maid's daughter, was receiving personal lesson from Master Yamato. It got so bad that the Clan Head summoned me and in simplest terms, I agreed to tell them about the training itself. But that wasn't enough for them, the Elders grew incredibly greedy when they heard of the power The Divine Organs can grant. The Clan Head was skeptical of my claims and kept a close eye on me as I continued to train. My life in the Clan was getting better, cousins that would normally sneer at my existence now had no choice but to greet me with a smile. Elders I had never met before, dotted on me. And life was good."