A glimpse outside the window, and it almost felt like the pages of a fairy tale had sprinted to life. The fields, the horses, the garden, all seemed unreal to her. After a while, Kitsune decided to take a stroll.
Her uniform, after being torn, bloody, and filled with dust had been confiscated. Akira after her treatment, had slept like a log. The reason being she, a human, had exhausted her stamina as she was healed. Kitsune was thus left alone, in a large room, with a huge TV and a game room but still felt bored.
The house seemed deserted as she walked around. The doors were humongous, the same as the windows. Every so often she encountered a servant who would bow as she passed by. This was awkward for her. Even at her home, this was not something of a custom. She also noted most of Cain's workers were female and young, some males were present too but a clear distinction in number.
The breeze outside made the hairs on her skin alert. Evening was approaching. Japan and London had a difference of eight hours, with Japan in the lead. If night came it would be morning. Not to mention that they had spent their "night" not in their homes. An explanation was overdue.
A stretch, raising the white blouse. Her slim waist, slightly exposed. She pulled her hair from the grasp and tuck of the white hoodie. She felt the cold on her thighs regretting the casual shorts and slides she wore.
Her attention shifted to the sight not so far from her. On one knee, back bent, crevices forming on his white shirt and black trousers, he keenly looked at some flowers. He had a small pair of garden scissors and brown gloves in his hand, his mind completely in a trance as he tended to the flowers.
* * *
In satisfaction, he sighed briefly as he looked at the well-tended plants. He felt a pain in his joints as he tried to relax. How long had he been there?
"Hi there," a familiar voice came.
"Hey," he turned to her.
She looked intently at his work. Not professional, not amateur but still attractive, clearly he did it out of passion or hobby.
"Are you gardening?" she asked.
"Yeah, just tending to the plants."
"You love plants?"
In exhaustion, he sat on the pavement heavily. His hands supported his body weight as he looked up at the girl.
"I am not sure, they still seem unreal to me."
Unreal? She watched as a bee landed on a flower and then fly away. They were beautiful. What was unreal about them? She wondered.
"Wanna try?"
"Trimming?"
"Yeah. Let's see . . . This Japanese Bonsai should feel more natural."
"Oh no . . . I've never trimmed in my life, I don't want to ruin your . . . "
"Don't worry as you can see it's just for fun."
Reluctantly she took the scissors. He took off his gloves and stood behind her. He then guided the scissors in her hand to the plant.
"Imagine a shape, then, imagine all the impurities standing in the way. And remove them."
They carefully made a few small cuts. First with her trembling hands, but then he let go of her hand. She made the cuts thoughtfully and felt relaxed as she did.
"See you are a natural," he complimented.
A feeling of fluttery overwhelmed her as she heard the compliment. She was about to turn to him when her face grazed against his. She felt tiny little pricks of the small patches of beard making her move away slightly. He had been standing too close and oblivious.
"Gardening is fun huh!" she said quickly and awkwardly handing over the scissors.
"Objectively it is for me." He said stretching as he stood straight. "Anyway, you didn't come to talk to me about gardening, did you?"
"Not really," she looked a bit at him and felt apprehensive, "First I wanted to apologize for something I did. You see when Adam took us hostage, I had doubts about you, and I realize that wasn't ok."
"It's fine, I wouldn't hate you for that little thing," he gently patted her back.
"I also wanted to ask you about Fallen Angels."
"I see, what did you want to know about us."
"I am not sure. It's just that I have a feeling that my life won't be the same again and I want to know why."
"Don't worry, your life will be normal. I was the one careless while I should have been doing my Job, of protecting you. It won't happen again, I promise."
He said his right hand on his chest. He made a slight bow.
"Ok, thanks," she said, "but about Fallen Angels, are you like from hell?"
Chuckling, "Hell is a place even Demons fear. That's why I am afraid of dying too. And no I am not from hell."
"Have you been there?" she said, mindlessly fascinated as she was enjoying the talk.
He looked at her sternly making her regret her choice of words. After a moment of contemplating, he spoke.
"Yes, I have been to hell."
"Was it a bad experience? How would you describe it."
"To put it simply, for me, physical pain was superficial. Today's pain is less compared to tomorrow and the next day."
He looked up in the sky. He seemed to be recalling a bad memory. In his mind was a sight full of fire, and screams. He stood amidst it all covered in blood and wounds panting.
"Even the best would lose their sanity. All the worst things you can imagine, rape, violence, and cannibalism, are present but only to weak individuals. Don't worry, I am not weak."
"How did you escape?"
"You saved me, remember."
Relief filled her. She could only imagine how a place even Demons fear could be. She then swallowed hard.
"Am I you know, going there? Seeing as I have a contract with a Demon?"
Cain could not hold back the titter as he looked at her face. She was surprised by his response, but it made the mood feel lighter.
"Don't worry, it's only reserved for the worst of the worst. If you go, there I have a feeling you would survive."
"That's not funny," she said scoldingly.
"I suppose not," he said with a flimsy smile.
He looked at the sky and gave a slight sigh. She noted it too, they had been talking for a while. The sky was almost dark now. The winds were blowing a little more strongly, the plants swayed, and a chilling cold ran on her skin.
"Let's go inside," he suggested.
She nodded and preceded him pulling her hood up.
* * * As they got in, she and Cain parted. He had some private things to attend to. He was fun to be around. She recalled the inscrutable man she had met on their first day and he was a contrast. He smiled more frequently but was still not the talkative kind. More so, his speech had shifted from a formal to a slightly modern and informal way.
"Lady Kitsune,"
She was brought back to reality by Gabriel who was curtsying.
"Please, don't be so formal with me, just Tsune or Ohashi is fine," she said.
"Okay, then I shall keep that in mind. Anyway, I have contacted your school and Miss Akira's parents, they were worried but after talking to the Miss they were fine. I explained to them as you instructed."
Kitsune noted she spoke as though she was giving a report, which may be out of habit. But decided not to push it for now. Her face also did not change much as she did, this made her look like a cute doll.
"I am still not sure why you object to talking to your parents."
"We are not close, and I live alone."
"Now I see, saying that Miss Akira was at your place was a convincing alibi."
"Again, It's just Akira," she said patiently.
She chuckled slightly at her awkwardness and smiled.
"Okay, Ohashi. Is that fine?" she asked unconfident.
Kitsune nodded in approval then gave a thumbs up. She too had to laugh at this as she sounded like a fantasy maid in anime. She sounded innocent when she spoke informal tone. It also felt easier.
"I see that you and the Master are bonding."
"I guess so,"
"That's good, thank you for that, he needs friends right now," she said in relief.
"If you may excuse me then I have a few errands to run. I am sorry Lord Cain is being a terrible host."
"It's fine, it was a sudden visit."
She curtsied and Kitsune bowed then she walked away. Kitsune was amazed at how busy the house was. Everyone had something to do it almost felt like she was intruding. She could not wait to go back home.
"One more thing," she said in the distance, "you should be careful as you talk to him. Keep that covered," she said pointing at the neck. Then vanished in the corridors.
After a while of strolling, completely lost, she came to the door where Akira was. She knocked, but no response came. She was baffled that Akira was still asleep. Her condition was the only thing keeping them. Still, she was amazed they healed her broken boned and flesh wounds in a night. No scars.
"Am coming in,"
She pushed the huge door open. Looking at the huge bed she was not there. She then realized this was not the room. She saw a long black coat on a coat rack, she knew whose it was, she had a similar one at home. This was Cain's room.
There was his familiar scent that filled the room. For some reason, she felt compelled to go in. Medieval weapons were hung on one section of the wall and Arabic carpet, the furniture was good, a desk, a shelf of books, a laptop on the desk, a couch, and a few other intricate details.
As she walked around, a painting caught her attention. It was old, well-framed, and covered. She pulled the cover. She gasped as she did. It was a young girl, she looked playful, but what shocked her the most was the young girl looked so much like her. It was almost like . . .
"Tsune, what are you doing in my room?" Cain's deep voice spoke, reverberating in her ears.