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<--Main <-Fan Art Paying a Debt Part 3 By Shiori Tsumi "What do I do...what am I supposed to do..?" Her hands tremble as she pulls on the borrowed clothes. The ground seems to shake beneath her very feet. "What...what am .I..what am I doing here? Keen-san is so nice...I don't deserve..." The image of a set of golden eyes, clouded with fury materializes in her mind, and she shudders. "But I can't disobey her. I can't." "Damn right you can't." The voice is soft, but she can hear it, and she knows she is right behind her, and there is warm breath on her neck. Her body stiffens, and her muscles suddenly refuse to move. "And you won't. You won't want to, either." "No, I won't..." She agrees meekly. "That's a good girl. Keep that attitude, and you'll last much longer." "Y-y...yes, ma'am." "Good girl. Now take this..." Something long and thin is forced into her hand, "and put it in her room." "But this is a...she'll be hurt!" Long nails rake down her arm. "So? The ends justify the means." "But..." "So what if she's hurt? It's just what I want." "But I don't-" "Suba-chan, you work for me, right?" "I'd hardly consider this wo-" "You work for me, right?" "Yes..." "And you follow my orders." "Yes." "So what I want is what you want." "But-" "Suba-chan." Something cracks, and she squeezes her eyes shut. Her arm is numb with pain, and limp. "I've told you before. You are nothing, just a pitiful, insignificant little maggot. I can get rid of you at any moment and be just as well off. I only keep you around out of the kindness of my heart. Don't abuse that kindness." "Yes, ma'am." The contact fades. "Don't let me down, Suba-chan. You know how I loathe failure." The other is gone, and she collapses, and she sobs and she cannot stop herself. **** Kaze returns from the hall, his eyes half-lidded. "What were you doing?" Keen asks, hoping for the best answer, but expecting the worst. Kaze grins nervously. "Checking on her, that's all! What do you take me for, Keen, some kinda pervert?" "Well...I wonder sometimes..." Ayame laughs, and Kaze scowls. "I'M NOT!" Miyo blinks. "Keen, what's a-" "DON'T ASK HIM!" Kaze interrupts. "It's the worst thing to ask a guy..." "Wha? Is it a horrible secret?" Miyo chirps, sounding mortified, shocked, and childishly curious all at the same time. "Um...well, it's not a secret so much as it's not exactly...um...proper," Keen manages, shuffling through his vocabulary for the right words. "It's improper? Improper how?" "Ah, well...that is, it's..." "Na, Inari-slave..." Kaze growls; he's not sure what to be more annoyed at...Ayame for calling him such an insulting name, or himself for getting used to be called such an insulting name. "Did you hear anything?" "She paid Subaru a visit. It's her, for real." "Ooh, really?" Ayame grins. "This will be fun; she always was a wild one. I absolutely loved that one...she always had a certain knack for finding just the right way to-" "Don't giggle about that!" Kaze suddenly quiets himself, and glances over at Miyo and Keen. The two are still chattering on about what epervert' means, Keen trying to keep to a G-rated explanation and Miyo asking all the questions Keen doesn't want to answer. "It's that kind of attitude that got her killed, remember?" "Oh, but apparently she's not dead anymore, is she?" Kaze is silent. "......Maybe it's someone else. Someone else with the same voice." "And the same scent? I doubt it," Ayame scoffs, her nose in the air. "Only she has her scent. Her scent is the most unique scent any kitsune could have." "Thought she was human..." "Oh, don't tell me you've actually listened to the stories. I would have thought for sure you'd just ignore those silly wives' tales!" "But you listened to them, too, didn't you?" Ayame merely smiles. "There's got to be some truth to them, right?" "There might be, there might not be." "Is there or isn't there?" "Yes." "Yes there is, or yes there isn't?" Ayame shrugs. "How should I know...the legend says it happened seven hundred years ago." "But maybe...maybe the legend was wrong about something." "Legends are legends because they're vague." The nogitsune grins. "Besides, isn't discovering the truth for yourself the best part?"
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