"Let's head to the central district." Destiny suggested.
"What do you wanna buy?" Zack asked Tanya.
"I wanna get candy for everyone, and some new toys." Tanya smiled at Zack while holding Lilith's hand.
Zack was speechless at her words. She had turned thirteen today, and most people her age would worry about themselves, but her first desire with money was to spend it on others. Zack patted Tanya on the head with a smile.
"I know you wanna help take care of everyone, but it's okay to get something for yourself okay?"
Tanya nodded with a smile as they went off to the market. By the time they finished shopping, it was afternoon. Zack bought the requested items, enough temporal rings for all residents, a large order of furniture, and smithing supplies. Destiny used most of her profits on supplies and new equipment.
With shopping concluded they went to get some snacks for the road when a commotion was heard. They had just barely left the inner city, and the scene before them reminded them of the reality of living in the city.
"Stop that thief!"
A young nekomata was running through the market with a few youngsters clutching handfuls of food. The vendor's security was chasing them down while he cracked his whip for one of the kids. Yu appeared blocking it with her staff yanking it out of his hands as the kids escaped. The security was surrounding Yu as the guards approached from the side. Zack quickly got in front of her waving his hand to retrieve a bag of gold.
"I'll pay for what they took, and everything you have," Zack said while approaching the security.
"Let him through." The vendor called back his security putting the guards at ease.
"Did I do something bad?" Yu asked with a concerned face.
"Not at all. I was about to do the same." Zack replied while kissing her.
"This city has always put on a good front, but this is common. No house and lack of work in town will do that. We need to be on the road before sunset so get going." Lilith smirked.
Lilith already knew Zack was going to try to help them. He didn't wanna overwhelm them so Zack only brought Yu and Tanya. He paid a few people for information and found a makeshift shelter in an alleyway.
The young woman from before came out alone wearing tattered clothing. She had two blue tails swaying behind her, and fluffy ears atop her head. The woman had messy blue hair, green cat eyes, and had her claws retracted in defense. When she saw Tanya, and Yu her claws returned to fingers.
"What do you want?" She glared at Zack.
"I wanna invite you somewhere that's a lot better than here. If you don't want to join us I understand. We will visit here quite often, and check back in if you decide to stay. This should help you for now." Zack waved his hand while a bag of food and some money dropped.
"What do I have to do in return. No human man would give something like that for free, and I don't do that here." The woman responded.
"Tanya can you show her, please. Think of home, and do what we taught you." Zack smiled patting her on the head.
Tanya approached while revealing her true form as the woman watched carefully. She could tell Tanya wasn't a threat. Tanya reached her hand out for the woman to hold it with a smile on her face. The woman hesitated, but slowly grabbed it. Tanya closed her eyes to transfer some memories to the neko. Tanya wasn't that great at controlling the technique yet causing her to show the start of it all.
--
The memory started in a home deep in the forest where Tanya's tribe was living peacefully with nature. A total of ten inari lived in their village, and their days together were filled with joy. One night a group of slavers attacked as panic erupted throughout the forest.
Their people were outnumbered greatly, but the bodies of the slavers still began to pile up. Even with the inari's tremendous power, their stamina was limited. They knew it was only a matter of time before they fell so they ordered an escape. Tanya was sent into the woods with her mother desperately trying to flee.
Her mother was struggling to run with Tanya as she fought and screamed for her papa. After running all night they found a cave to rest in. Tanya was asleep, and when she woke she searched for her mother. After walking through the snow for several minutes she found her mother fighting off the slavers alone and saw her covered in blood. Tanya's mother was on the brink of death as men began to surround her.
There was a total of fifteen slavers closing in on her mother, and Tanya was frozen in fear. Her mother saw Tanya watching from the woods as she struggled to stand up. Her seven tails began to burn brightly as the sky darkened. With a roar that caused the forest to quake two more tails sprouted as the ground started crumbling beneath them. The slavers were trembling under the pressure while the stronger ones began fleeing in terror.
In the blink of an eye ten of them were shredded to pieces. Blood began bursting into the air forming a thick mist in the forest. Five of them were still fleeing as all nine tails pointed outward with the palm of her hand.
Tanya's mother was still losing blood rapidly, and her consciousness was fading gradually. Through willpower alone, she held strong as the trees around her began swaying violently. Massive flames gathered condensing rapidly in her palm as the area in front of her was incinerated. There wasn't a single trace of life found within a mile of her attack.
Tanya ran up crying trying to keep her mother awake, but the moment her body fell it was over. Tanya stayed by her corpse for a day as she began to grow hungry. That was when two people found her and gave her food.
They helped Tanya bury her mother, and a kind woman stayed by her side. The man left coming back with others the slavers captured, but they couldn't find any of Tanya's people. That's when Tanya was taken in by Yuki, and Zack.
--
All the memories of those two kind strangers taking care of them and other children flashed through the neko's head. Then she saw the paradise they were currently living in. The woman pulled her hand away looking up at Zack.
"Big bro is a good person I promise," Tanya smiled.
'For such a tragedy to happen so young, and yet she still smiles. It isn't a hollow one either.'
"Gather your stuff were leaving!" The woman ordered while hitting the shack.
They heard rustling for a few minutes before someone poked their head out. Out walked eight kids, and only two were human. One of them was a demon, three were dark elves, another nekomata resembling Cynthia, and the final one was a kakuen. When it saw Yu it ran up hugging her. It didn't know Yu, but it hasn't seen another of its kind since its family.
"My name is Cynthia by the way, and thank you for saving me." Cynthia lowered her head slightly.
"No problem," Yu said while smiling at the little kakuen clinging to her.
"We need to get going if we wanna make it home by dinner," Zack said before leading them to the others.
"You still help an orphanage I see. Is that what you meant by increased duties?" Vicente asked
"You'll see when we get there," Zack replied.
They arrived at the stables while everyone loaded into the wagon, and rolled through the gates of Blackreach. While on the road Zack was flying above the wagon keeping watch. Lilith was controlling the reins with Tanya next to her talking about their day. Yu was riding in the back sitting next to Vicente, and the kakuen child named Pan. Cynthia sat looking out the back watching for threats while the children talked about leaving. They were still passing through the farmlands as the city wall began to fade in the distance.