Flirt and Run

Nuregarasu's lips parted slightly as she panted softly, each breath carrying the cool chill of moonlight.

Her black hair cascaded down like a waterfall, hiding the burning crimson at the tips of her ears.

A few stray locks, damp with sweat, clung to her temples, glimmering faintly in the moonlight.

Once the intense surge that had filled her body and soul subsided, Nuregarasu regained control of her body.

She lowered the sleeve she had kept raised before her face. Her cheeks, once pale as paper, now bore a faint pink flush.

The young woman's eyes shimmered like water, a hint of shyness rippling through them, yet the serenity and composure born of weathering hardship remained clear in her expression.

She bowed. "I, Nuregarasu, thank you for your gift, Admiral."

"No need for such formalities."

Having just listened to some rather adult sounds, Tōga felt a little pleased by the changes in his body. They were proof that he was growing up-

Like a fledgling spreading its wings, ready to soar into a wider sky.

Then Tōga nodded slightly and spoke in a deep, composed voice.

"Every gift I give serves a need of my own. I hope you haven't forgotten what you told Ringetsu at Wind-Thunder Gorge, Chieftain Nuregarasu."

Nuregarasu slowly raised her head and looked at the imposing Dog General before her, who offered courtesy before resorting to force. She silently scoffed to herself, but her expression remained unchanged as she spoke softly.

"I understand."

She gently bit her thin lip, her expression unreadable to Tōga. Her next words startled him even more.

"As long as you are willing to shelter the Karasu Tengu, Admiral, I am willing to offer you everything."

Tōga's expression turned serious, and he hurriedly said, "You shouldn't talk about giving me everything. You're acting for your people, and so am I."

Watching the Dog General lose his composure ever so slightly, Nuregarasu's lips curved almost imperceptibly. Then she behaved like a subordinate who had realized she had spoken out of turn.

Her yokai power rippled, and her newly grown raven feathers transformed into a black twelve-layered robe. She dipped into an elegant bow. "I misspoke. Please forgive me, Admiral."

Tōga breathed a small sigh of relief, the tension in his heart quietly easing.

Instinctively, he looked up once more toward the mountaintop above the Fortress, just in time to catch a gleam of gold emerging on the horizon.

The clouds above the summit suddenly tore open like silk, revealing a golden seam. Light spilled across the rolling ridgelines, leaving brilliance everywhere it touched.

"Warm sunlight... it has been so long since I last felt it."

As that soft sigh sounded beside Tōga's ear, the Karasu Tengu Chieftain spread her wings and took flight.

Her backlit wings stretched freely, the yokai power surging within her refracting the morning rays into a rainbow spray of light.

Countless raven feathers unfurled behind her, each tipped with a deep-blue speck of light like stardust. With every wingbeat, she seemed to drag the whole dawn into eternal night.

Just then, a clear cry rang out, like a cold spring breaking through ice, instantly piercing the stagnant light of the sky.

Everyone looked toward the sound. The Dog Tribe Noblewoman, now in human form, descended from the cliff as though walking down steps, her silver hair trailing like the Milky Way. Moon-shaped ripples bloomed in the empty air beneath her toes.

The silvery radiance bursting from the Moon Mark on her forehead formed a tidal field of attraction with the dark clouds of yokai power roiling around Nuregarasu.

The instant the two forces met, the rosy dawn faded to blue-gray, and the morning light manifested phantoms of both a crescent moon and a blazing sun in the sky.

Caught up in the moment, Nuregarasu sent violet lightning beneath her wings transforming into dark ravens that plunged into the sea of clouds, while moonlight in Ringetsu's palm condensed into white dogs that bounded across the mountaintops.

The two High-Level Yokai hovered on opposite sides of the boundary between dawn and dusk, one surrounded by dark tides borne on raven feathers, the other by cascades woven from silver light.

Like the rivers of life and death in Yomotsu Hirasaka, never meant to meet, they nevertheless reflected a magnificent vision of yin and yang giving rise to one another in Tōga's flecked-gold eyes.

"Oh my, it looks as though they're about to fight!"

Somewhat dazed by the spectacle, Tōga heard a familiar soft laugh behind him.

He turned sideways to look at Zi Yan as she approached, the helplessness on his face deepening.

"My dear elder sister, this is no time to enjoy someone else's trouble."

"Hm? Am I smiling?"

Zi Yan touched her slightly upturned lips, her eyes fluttering like butterflies in spring. "It seems your big sister really is a bad woman~"

As those airy words fell, Zi Yan took advantage of everyone's distraction to bring her lips close to Tōga's ear, winding his loose silver hair around her fingertips.

The voluptuous older woman inhaled deeply. Fresh, soothing, and abundant "Tōga energy" flowed into her heart, nourishing the cherry tree that had long since grown tall enough to touch the sky.

Her alluring violet eyes rippled like water, every glance seemingly capable of stealing a soul.

With each breath, a sweet fragrance spread, as though tinting the air around them with intimacy.

Her tail swayed behind her until it, too, curled around Tōga's.

"You're a naughty one too, little brother Tōga. You had just finished spending some intimate time with me tonight, then turned around and spent a lovely night with the Karasu Tengu Chieftain."

"No wonder the Karasu Tengu Chieftain has grown so bold that she dares to vie with Ringetsu for the spotlight. It turns out little brother Tōga is backing her."

Her voice rose slightly, carrying a touch of playful reproach. "But tell me, what could those two inexperienced girls possibly have that's better than your big sister~?"

"Come on, little brother Tōga, tell me~"

Suddenly, two gazes fell on him from high above. Tōga, who had neither said a word nor made a move, went rigid.

Zi Yan, still leaning beside his ear and urging him on, seemed to have expected it. Smiling, she swiftly ran off, leaving only a trail of silvery laughter echoing through the air.

Tōga had come to utterly detest this shameless woman who flirted and ran-sooner or later, he would teach her what a defeat CG was!

High above, as the two women met each other's gaze across the sky, the atmosphere was not nearly as hostile as those below imagined.

Instead, there was a measure of mutual appreciation.

Ringetsu's impression of Nuregarasu was far from poor.

The fact that Nuregarasu had the courage to dance alongside her despite her provocation only deepened her admiration.

Those with ability ought to display their talents. Constant meekness would only invite needless humiliation.

Sensing the grand, open bearing within Ringetsu's yokai power, Nuregarasu bowed. "As expected of Lady Ringetsu. You have only just broken through, yet your strength is already so formidable."

"Merely an inheritance of my bloodline."

Having enjoyed smooth sailing all along, Ringetsu felt neither excitement nor pride over her breakthrough.

Just as she ate when hungry and drank when thirsty, becoming a High-Level Yokai had been that natural to her. At most, she felt a little happy.

"We will be heading to our ancestral lands next. Chieftain Nuregarasu, you may choose to accompany us or find somewhere to rest for a while."

Having let Zi Yan sneak in and steal a march on her through her own inattention, Ringetsu had no desire for a lengthy conversation with Nuregarasu. She stepped through the air and landed directly before Tōga.

Lost in thought, Nuregarasu glanced briefly at Tōga as he spoke with Ringetsu, then returned to the Karasu Tengu camp.

The Karasu Tengu, who had thought a fight was about to break out, finally relaxed.

Including the three old ravens, they all obediently followed their chieftain's orders.