[Play Kanojotachi no Kenkai - Kanon OST 7]
A beautiful young woman with crimson hair the color of autumn leaves leaned against a chair, staring out an apartment window at the orange morning sun reflecting off the city streets. Wearing a sakura petal kimono that she picked out earlier while shopping, Su Daji sighed and then spun around to look at the two other women sitting nearby. "Why do we have to wait here again? Can't we just go visit big brother and big sister already?"
A faint musical strum echoed, a soft chord from an acoustic guitar. The player was another beautiful young woman, but one with flowing black hair and glittering ruby eyes. Unlike the elegant kimono that Daji wore, the black-haired beauty wore simple clothes, a plain white blouse and jeans.
Resting her guitar against her legs, Wang Zhaojun adjusted the tuning on the guitar and said, "Be patient, Sister Daji. It has barely been two days." She lightly strummed the guitar, tentatively picking out some notes before looking up. "As much as you miss Senior Brother, it would be rude to step in on Senior Sister's time with him after they have just reunited."
Daji huffed and and then leaned back, crossing her arms. "Just because big brother chose her doesn't meant that big sister can monopolize all of his time." She looked to the side and said, "Right, Xuanni? I mean, we care for big brother too!"
"That *is* true." A low and sultry voice answered Daji. And the owner was a woman with an appearance that matched the voice.
A voluptuous body with a chest barely contained in a red silken gown. Dark hair with soft curls that seemed to glimmer like the starry sky.
Lazily leaning against the opposite side of the sofa to Daji, Jiutian Xuannu swirled around a glass of red wine and idly took a sip. After that, she lowered the glass and said, "But you know how that princess is. It'll end up just causing trouble for Johnny if we show our faces right now." She paused and said, "...I do miss him though. And his cute daughters."
Daji jumped up and nodded. "Right?! I want to go see Betty! It's not fair that my beautiful niece is being kept away from me!"
Zhaojun played a soft chord and then nodded. "I... do miss Alphy a great deal as well." She picked out a few more notes and then looked out the window. "Just how much has my adorable niece changed since the last time I saw her, I wonder?"
"Ugh." Xuannu shook her head and said, "Don't remind me. I haven't gotten a chance to play with Meggie in *ages* since that princess became so paranoid." She sighed and said, "Honestly... Why did that man choose a woman like her anyway?" She huffed and drained her glass of wine. "It's not like I'm any less than her. And that bastard had the nerve to ask me to lend him my copy of the tantric arts too and then run off without practicing with me..."
Daji giggled, hiding her face with her right sleeve. "Maybe if you weren't so aggressive you might have had a chance, Xuanni."
"I don't want to hear that from the fox who played coy and innocent so that she could get an eyeful of Johnny and his little dragon."
Daji gasped and said, "How rude! A young maiden as pure and innocent as me would never do such a thing to big brother!" She looked to Zhaojun and said, "Right, Zhaozhao?"
Zhaojun nodded. "Of course not."
Daji puffed out her chest and let out a smug smile. "See?"
"...Because Sister Daji is too clumsy to pull off such a ploy."
Daji gasped and rounded on Zhaojun. "Zhaozhao! How could you?!"
Xuannu laughed and set her glass off to the side. She tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear and said, "True. Miss Foxy here doesn't quite live up to her nature as a demonic fox spirit."
Daji narrowed her eyes, causing her hair to flicker white and nine ghostly tails to appear behind her. "Don't make me beat you up, Xuanni!"
Xuannu waved her hand and said, "Relax, Daji. I'm just poking fun. And you know it's true. Whenever you're around Johnny, you end up acting like a clumsy little girl."
Daji flushed and she said, "I can't help it, okay?" She sighed and said, "Big brother is still the only one I can really be myself around... Other than you two." She pulled her knees up to her chest and leaned her head against them. "Everyone else keeps expecting me to be the ruthless Demon Lord. I mean, I don't mind, but... I miss the playful days running around with big brother, Alphy, and Betty."
Zhaojun let out a long sigh and then placed her guitar down. "I miss those days as well." She raised her gaze, looking out the window into the city. "Those were much simpler times. More dangerous... but simpler."
"Oh right." Xuannu crossed her legs, causing a bit of her silk gown to shift and reveal black lace beneath it. "I keep forgetting that you two have known Johnny longer than I have." She chuckled and said, "It seems like it's already been forever since we've all known each other."
Daji giggled. "It has, hasn't it?" She shook her head and said, "I can't imagine life without you two coming over for lunch or tea now." She paused. "Though... What have you been doing, Zhaozhao?" She turned to Zhaojun and said, "You showed up at the fight, but you were missing for a while before that, weren't you?"
"Ah." Zhaojun blushed and she said, "I was working on a song. Since Senior Brother had become a transcendent, I wanted to travel around the Three Realms and sing tales of his past so that everyone else could know of Senior Brother's greatness."
Xuannu laughed. "That's sweet, but I think the entire Three Realms are all too aware of Johnny's 'greatness.'"
Zhaojun frowned. "And that is exactly why I wanted to travel and perform such a song. Too many people were badmouthing Senior Brother after his marriage to Senior Sister and spreading around nothing but his bad points."
Daji huffed. "I don't blame them. Who would have thought that eternal ice maiden would get her heart melted by Big Brother in a single day and then run around after him like a little puppy?"
Zhaojun raised an eyebrow. "...If I remember correctly, were you not the same, Sister Daji?"
Daji coughed. "I-I was not! A-And even if I was, *I* had the decency to not be jealous!"
Xuannu shook her head. "Enough. Talking about that selfish and clingy princess gives me a headache."
Zhaojun frowned. "Senior Sister is not that bad."
"Uh-huh." Xuannu gave Zhaojun a blank look and said, "So then why do you still call her 'Senior Sister' and not by name? And even then, wouldn't you be the Senior Sister?"
Zhaojun picked her guitar back up and started lightly strumming a melody. "Since Senior Brother chose her, she is Senior Sister. No matter what I think about it, I respect Senior Brother's decision."
Xuannu nodded. "I respect Johnny's decision too. But 'respect' doesn't need to mean 'approve', Zhaojun."
A guitar string snapped, causing a red line to form on Zhaojun's milky skin. She paused for a while and then sighed, conjuring another guitar string to fix it.
Daji shook her head at that. Staring at the guitar with her bright orange eyes, the fox demon said, "Zhaozhao's too nice." Leaning forward, she said, "You know, if you had pushed a bit harder, I bet big brother would have changed his mind."
Zhaojun shook her head. "He would not. Senior Brother..." She twisted the tuning keys a bit too tight, causing another string to snap. Sighing, she conjured another string and said, "Senior Brother said that he had a certain woman in mind from the moment he arrived in the Three Realms. And that I was not that woman."
Daji gasped. "Really?! He didn't say that to me!"
Zhaojun shrugged and went back to retuning her guitar. "Because you would have cried."
"I-I wouldn't do that!"
Xuannu laughed. "Oh? Then was that night where you forced me to share my store of sweets with bloodshot and bleary eyes my imagination?"
"Xuanniiii! You promised not to tell!"
Zhaojun looked up at Daji and smiled. "Worry not, Sister Daji. That is better than Sister Xuannu drinking herself into a drunken stupor after Senior Brother spurned her advances and then collapsing into the pond saying that she would not live in a world without her golden emperor."
Xuannu jumped out of her seat, her face as red as her silk gown. "Y-You! You saw that?!"
"Who do you think changed and dried your clothes so that Senior Brother would not be concerned the next morning?"
Xuannu sat back down and placed her hand on her chin. "I *did* find it odd that I was tucked in... but I thought that was Johnny being the gentleman he usually was." She shook her head and looked up at Zhaojun. "Guess that's another favor I owe you."
"Favors, shmavors!" Daji leaned forward and said, "Who cares about that? We're sisters in all but blood now, aren't we?" She reached over and pulled Xuannu close, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "If one of us needs something, we help each other out. That's what we promised, right?"
Xuannu smiled. "My. So it seems Miss Foxy *can* be mature."
"...I'll bite you."
"Ooh, how kinky."
Daji rolled her eyes and then shoved Xuannu a bit before moving back to her corner. After that, she spun around and flopped over the back of the chair, looking out the window. "Argh... Why does time in this world pass by so slow- Hm?"
Zhaojun looked up. "Something interesting, Sister Daji?"
Daji's eyes lit up and she jumped out of her seat. "It's big brother! He's here!"
"Eh?" Xuannu frowned and turned around to look. After seeing the blonde man walking down the street, she chuckled. "How surprising. I would have thought that clingy princess would have come along with him. But I suppose this is for the best."
Zhaojun nodded, a strange look in her eyes. "Yes. Since it is like this..."
Daji's eyes gleamed and a foxy grin crossed her face. "We can scold him properly for leaving without a word. Right?"
Xuannu chuckled again and said, "You took the words right out of my mouth, Daji."
-----AI|IA-----
John stood at the bottom of the apartment complex that Qing had bought and then came to a stop as his instincts screamed at him to turn around and walk back home. And not the combat instincts, but the ones finely tuned throughout the countless years to sense any potential issues that might crop up with women.
In short...
"Well, damn." He glanced up, following his instincts. As he did, he briefly caught sight of crimson hair moving away from a window a few floors up. Daji's.
"...Looks like I'm not getting off the hook that easy, huh?" John sighed and then tucked his hands back in his pocket before walking towards the apartment complex's entrance. "Well... Gotta take the bitter with the sweet, I guess."