"Hey! You good?!" Tashi asked in alarm. Miko simply nodded and replied, "Yea... I think I was dizzy from running around." Tashi chuckled and then both of them headed into the store. The shop was a luxury to Tashi, with all the expensive goods standing proudly atop the clean wooden shelves. For Miko however, it was worse than a nightmare. Fox tails and gems hung on hooks like trophies, while tengu wings were tied back and dried before being placed on shelves. There were also tanuki ears on headbands, and their thick, fluffy tail tied onto a ribbon. Its was sickening. Some animal parts were even turned to forms of entertainment for children?! In the exotic corner, she found hundreds of mermaid scales in huge boxes like confetti. A whole mermaid was probably killed for that amount of scales. Unicorn horns pointed at the ceiling, with vials of their blood on full display. They were also rather expensive, since they were believed to have healing properties. Small dragon horns and eggs laid on the shelves. Even baby dragons were killed for decoration. The eggs no longer had a chance to hatch either, as the needed a dragon's breath to incubate from the start. It was a terrible sight.
Seeing her distressed expression, Tashi asked if she was fine. Miko nodded, and headed out immediately. No wonder her brother warned her to not reveal herself in the past. Last time, Humans and beasts had a harmonious or ignorant relationship, where neither bothered another. Now, beasts were being outright hunted. Miko left the shop hurriedly, with Tashi following in close suit.
"Is something wrong?" Tashi asked.
"Well... Why do you think people hunt beasts?" Miko asked. She never understood this matter herself, and neither did many other beasts.
"Well, firstly, they are monsters. They are terrorise and bring normal civillians harm. Secondly, if they are just killing machines who enjoy other's suffering and take pleasure from it, don't you think they should be hunted? Besides, they do look quite beautiful, such as their fur and horns and all, so why not? I heard some famous weavers weave together fox furs and sell them. I wore them once while they were trying to market it, and honestly it feels quite soft and comfortable." Tashi replied. Miko was shocked. Did that mean that Tashi would one day kill her if he found out? Maybe it would be the best if she did not tell him. After all, when Takei was alive, he loved her, especially even after she told him, so it must be his upbringing in this lifetime if he was Tashi. Miko simply nodded, too uncomfortable to continue this conversation any longer.
After a whole day of street shopping, Miko and Tashi went to an inn and bought a room, with Tashi paying since he insisted. Miko allowed them to share a room, since there was something she wanted to try. She took a bath soon after Tashi, and got into the bed next to him. Tashi smiled warmly, knowing Miko was comfortable enough to share a bed with him. He closed his eyes as he drifted off to sleep, with Miko beside him.
Miko could not sleep. Today's events have upset her, and she was too disturbed to sleep. She flipped over to face Tashi, his angelic face glowing from the moonlight shining through the windows. She carressed his face gently, before sitting up. To save her power, she reverted back to a half fox, her pink fluffy ears and tail appearing in a puff of light. She moved her hand abit lower, holding his chin. Suddenly, she pressed her lips against his, slowly sliding her tongue in. As she did so, she activated her innate magic and it rushed into Tashi. She was actively searching for something. The magic connecting them both sent electric bolts down both their spines, enough to wake Tashi up. As he was waking up, another bolt of energy caused him to open his eyes wider. Miko gently opened her eyes and closed them back. She was sure he would not remember any of this, because she was going to wipe his memory after. Tashi followed suit, closing his eyes, enjoying the deep kiss. If he had ever kissed anyone before, none had made him feel the electric pulse he was feeling.
Miko widened her eyes. She found it! Deep inside him was a little of her energy, way more powerful than her current self. If it resonated with her and she was able to take it out, it would mean that Tashi is Takei's reincarnation! Concentrating her power to that one specific spot, she tried to pull it out. However, the moment she did that, the magic link broke, and she had to pull away, out of breath. She sat panting while Tashi looked at her in disbelief. She did not particularly focus on that though, and she turned away from him, half in embarrassment, and the other half in question of what went wrong.
"Go back to sleep," she said, waving her hand as the spell forced Tashi back into a dream. Why did the link break? If felt as if after she found the source of her energy in him, it repelled her very strongly. If that was her energy, why did it repel her? Or was it, that Tashi had a special constitution that was sealed, and prevented any strong magic from working on him until it was removed?