by Eric Vall
I stood on the deck in the darkness for a long time and I sensed out the steady rhythm of Haruhi’s heart. I could tell from the steady, calm beating of her heart that wherever she was, she was resting. I couldn’t wait to get to her and have her back in my arms again. The last time I’d seen the second cat girl had been at the library when the Holy Band of Mages attacked. It’d been a sweet meeting in a way, and I’d taken her virginity there in the library she loved so much. I cherished the memory, and I knew Haruhi did too.
I didn’t sleep much that night, only listened to the beat of my newest minion’s heart. We weren’t far from Canarta when I finally sat up in bed; I could tell from the steady pace of the sage’s heart and how much closer it got as the sun slowly rose in the east.
“Oh, Master, I can’t wait to show you everything there! I’m so excited to see my momma and papa! Oh! And Haruhi too! You must be so happy to get to see her after all this time!” Carmedy rambled on as she hurriedly dressed.
Rana was the next to wake up as she slept curled between Morrigan and Annalise. The elven woman and the high queen slid from their positions and collided in our large bed but neither of them awoke from their deep sleep. The fox-girl yawned loudly as she plopped down beside me on the edge of the bed then rifled through her pack. She found what she was looking for then offered me a dried strip of meat. My stomach growled, and I took it with a thankful smile, then Rana offered the feline another piece. Carmedy took it and immediately started munching on it.
“Are we going to Nekoka now?” Rana asked as she looked up into my face and took a big bite of her own dried meat.
“Yes, we’ll meet with Haruhi and speak to her about the Qianlong. I’d like to see how much information she and her father have on it in the library.” I nodded to them, and Rana peeked over to the feline as she gave her sister a knowing smile.
“Riiight, we’re going to Nekoka just to ‘go to the library and learn stuff,’” The redhead giggled as she bobbed her head. “Tell us about your last trip to the library, Master, you were there for a looong time, read any good books?”
“I don’t think Master and Haruhi opened up any books during his visit,” Carmedy said thoughtfully as she tapped her chin and chewed. “But there is no doubt in my mind that Haruhi was the one who opened up to Master during his visit.”
Both Rana’s and my head snapped towards the short feline, and the redhead’s mouth dropped open in surprise. Carmedy blinked for a moment as her eyes met ours and confusion slipped over her features. The petite alchemist’s face froze as she prepared to take a bite of her dried meat.
“What?” Carmedy asked as her emerald eyes flicked back and forth between Rana and me. “Did I say something wrong?”
“Pussycat! I never expected, you, of all people, the most innocent out of the bunch, to say something like that!” The redhead cackled after she finally regained composure.
“What?” the feline asked, and she looked to me for clarification. “You and Haruhi must have had a long talk while you were there, right, Master?”
I raised my eyebrows and pressed my lips into a hard line as I attempted to suppress a grin and laugh but failed miserably. It took a few seconds, but finally, Carmedy’s rosy cheeks paled, and her plump lips stammered as she realized what she’d hinted at.
“O-oh! I didn’t mean that!” the alchemist cried and below us, Annalise’s brow furrowed as she shifted in her sleep. “I just meant that they sat down and had a long talk or something…n-not that!”
“Riiiiight and the ghost noises that Master and Morrigan made were just that, ghost noises.” Rana giggled as she leaned forward and covered her eyes with one paw.
“Well, Carmedy,” I started. “Haruhi did…open up to me in more than one way. We sat down and had a cup of tea together and just talked after. Does that explain the situation a bit better?”
“Yes,” Carmedy groaned as she covered her face with her paws. “You both know that I didn’t mean it like that!”
“You shouldn’t let Rana’s teasing get to you so, Carmedy,” Morrigan’s emotionless voice called as the white-haired woman sat up and shook the high queen awake. “She only does it to you so often because she thinks you are an easy target.”
“That’s not true!” Rana protested as she pushed out her bottom lip and pouted down at her elven sister. “Carmedy just says silly, innocent things without thinking!”
“I’m not silly or sweet!” the feline counter-protested as she crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m vicious and blood-thirsty.”
“So says the kitten that was upset with Rana for squishing a spider two days ago, a spider that you specifically instructed Rana to kill.” Annalise laughed as she finally sat up and rubbed at her face.
“It was big!” Carmedy cried as she turned to me and showed me with her fingers how big it was. “And hairy! It was practically the size of a dog!”
“You still got teary after Rana killed it though.” The high queen snorted as her eyebrows furrowed.
“…What if it had a family and now they’re up all night wondering why poppa spider never came home?” the feline muttered as she scratched at her cheek and looked away from all of us.
“I love you just the way you are, even if you wonder about a spider’s family.” I grinned as I wrapped an arm around the feline and pulled her to my side.
Our charter ship lay anchor at the dock about midmorning and my minions bid goodbye to the crew and captain. My women hurried down the gangplank after me, and I took in the whole of the island. I’d only been to Nekoka once before, and I was in a hurry to get to Haruhi before anything terrible happened to her. This time I took in everything around us as we tied off the small boat and stepped up onto the dock.
Nekoka was beautiful and huge palm trees swayed in the wind along the sandy beaches. It was hot but not as sweltering as Valasara, and my women kicked off their shoes as they hopped onto the sand and danced around together. I watched them for a moment as I listened to the far off beat of Haruhi’s heart. The sage didn’t know we were here, and I was eager to surprise her with our presence. I was also excited to be back in the magnificent library I’d seen briefly before.
I turned my head towards the white-washed staircases that wove their ways up the sides of the island. Houses and shops were precariously built into the sides of the island, but they looked sturdy and breath-takingly beautiful at the same time. Blue doors dotted the white-washed stone and gave off a soothing aura that I’d never seen before in other countries.
I remembered the way to the library by heart, and I turned towards the massive number of stairs as my women hurried back onto the dock beside me. I started up first as I listened to Haruhi’s heart and thoughts, and they soothed me. The second feline had no idea we were on the way as she spoke to her elderly father in soft tones. A soft breeze ruffled my hair back over my shoulders, and the tall, lush grass beside the stairs rustled along with it. The air was salty and fresh, and the higher we climbed, the sweeter it became.
We wove deeper into the city, and I recognized the place I’d materialized the night that I’d gone to rescue Haruhi. We weren’t far now, and her heart beat in time with mine. I wasn’t sure if she sensed it or felt it, but the mark I’d placed on the back of her neck flamed up with life at my presence. We came around a bend in the stairs to a landing, and from where we stood, I could just make out the roof of the gorgeous library I’d seen once before. Only five stairs were separating us from the courtyard that led to the massive building, and I took them two at a time.
People hustled about the courtyard unlike the last time I’d been here, and I took in everything in the daylight. The library looked the same but much better in the daytime. The massive glass dome shone in the sunlight and through the panes, I could make out the branches of the fully bloomed tree inside. I strode across the courtyard and paid no mind to the people who stepped in my way, but I stopped at a voice I’d missed so much that it nearly made my heart leap out of my chest.
“Master? Is that you?”
Chapter Eleven
I turned as my heart pounded in my avatar’s chest, and the sun cast shadows before my eyes as I caught sight of the feline I searched for. Her long, nearly black hair was pulled back by light blue ribbons in a high ponytail, and it whispered in the wind over her shoulder. Her huge hazel eyes sparkled behind her thick-rimmed round glasses as she held a small stack of books tightly to her chest.
The last time I’d seen her, she’d worn a light cream colored dress, but this time she looked dressed up like she was out running errands. Her dark cyan dress ended about midthigh and ruffled in the wind as she stood a few feet away from me. The sleeves of her dress were starched white and cinched up to the elbow with golden buttons. She wore a red ribbon at her throat that contrasted perfectly against the greenish blue of her dress. She wore the same weathered knee-high boots from before, but this time she wore knit stockings that ended just above the boots. Haruhi held a stack of books in one arm and supported an older cat-man with the other.
She looked stunning as her lips parted slightly, and I could hear her call my name in her thoughts over and over. My only minion who knew my true name, I’d waited so long to be in front of her finally. I took a single step forward and outstretched my arms to her as I grinned.
Tears sprang to the sage’s eyes as the books tumbled to the ground, and she broke out into a run. Her dark cyan dress billowed out behind her and gave me a stunning view of her smooth, thick thighs as she came towards me. Tears spilled down her freckled cheeks and right as she was about to reach me, she launched herself into the air. I caught her effortlessly as both of our laughters ran out into the morning sunlight. I twirled her, felt both her weight against my body, and the same sense of comfort wash over me that I always felt around the librarian.
“Haruhi, my child, you shouldn’t go around jumping into strangers’ arms,” the older man shouted as he lifted a twisted cane into the air.
“Kazama, Kazama, Kazama!” Haruhi murmured into my ear as I finally stopped spinning and held her to my chest.
My own name was like music to my ears, no one had ever said it so sweetly, and for the first time since meeting them, I imagined my other minion’s whispering it in my ear. It was like Haruhi’s presence made me bold and gave me the desire to tell them the whole truth about my past and true name. The sage was the last puzzle piece that I needed, and I brought my lips to hers as the bright sun warmed my back. The librarian melted into me, and over my shoulders, I heard a collective sigh come from the rest of my minions as they watched Haruhi and the tender moment play out. I set down the white-eared cat and gazed down at her. Haruhi looked so pretty as her wavy, dark hair shifted around her shoulders, and she tilted her head back to look into my face. The second cat lifted her glasses and wiped at her eyes as she giggled. Haruhi was only a few inches shorter than Carmedy, but compared to me she was a tiny thing, dainty even. I reached out and ran my gloved fingers through the length of her ponytail, and the kitten smiled up at me shyly with dusted pink cheeks.
The last time I’d seen her had been in the small portion of the library that she and her father called home. I’d taken her virginity just moments before, and she’d unfurled for me like a blossoming flower. She looked more beautiful than ever now, so much different from when we’d met her on Machstein. The sage had been pretty then, but compared to now, her past self paled in comparison.
“My gods! The books, Haruhi, the books! They will be ruined!” the older man shouted as he leaned on the cane and picked up the discarded books his daughter dropped. He hurried over and grabbed my white-eared minion by the shoulder as he lifted his bright hazel eyes to my face. “Good sir, I humbly apologize, I don’t know what’s gotten into her today! Haruhi, apologize to the man for your brash, and unladylike, behavior!”
“Pappa, this is the man I was telling you about.” Haruhi smiled as she placed a hand on my arm and brought me towards the cat-man.
Haruhi’s father looked older, his face was wrinkled, and his brow heavy, but though he walked with a cane, he moved with an assured confidence of a man who didn’t need it. He was tall but only came to about my shoulder as we stood face to face. He wore plain tan pants, a pressed white shirt and a pair of tanned leather suspenders.
Haruhi’s father had hazel eyes that matched his daughter’s perfectly and wandered over my avatar’s face for a moment; then they swiveled to his much shorter daughter. He squinted at her and mouthed something that I couldn’t understand. Haruhi rolled her eyes, then tapped her ear to signify something, and her father sighed loudly as he reached into his pants’ pocket.
He fumbled for something and finally pulled out an ornately carved ear trumpet that looked as if it were made from bone. He placed the earpiece in and leaned in close to his daughter as he squinted one eye. Haruhi stood on her tiptoes and spoke directly into the wide mouth of the ear trumpet in a loud, slow voice.
“Pappa, this is the man,” the sage said emphatically as she pointed towards me, and her father’s eyes snapped to me as he nodded. “The one I was telling you about.”
Haruhi’s father snapped to attention and nearly smacked his daughter with the wide brim of the ear trumpet as he gave me an unsuspected salute.
“Yes, yes! Why didn’t you say so?” Her father cried in an unnaturally loud voice, but I figured it was because of his hearing loss. “But he’s not a man! He’s a god! Yes, yes, why don’t you come inside? We, more specifically me, have been waiting on your arrival! I have so many questions for you. Come, come! These are your women, I suppose? Yes, yes, come on, you come with us too!”
Rana chuckled at the man’s antics as he looped an arm around my arm and pulled me towards the massive library. I’d been here once before, but it’d been dark, and I couldn’t take in the masterful architecture. The marble walls of the library stretched up so far into the sky that I had to lean my head back to look up into the glass terrarium.
My other four minions hung their heads back to look up at the enormous columns as we climbed up the stairs toward the front of the building. I could barely make out the vibrant greens of the tree inside, and I couldn’t wait to show Morrigan. I already knew that the massive oak inside the library had magical properties, but I wanted the elven woman to see it for herself, in fact, I couldn’t wait to show the rest of my minions the library. It was a beautiful place, but it was also a place that Haruhi loved with all of her heart, and in a way, I had to love it too.
The towering double doors out front had been replaced, and the polished wood shone in the bright sunlight as Haruhi’s father hurried over with his key in hand. He unlocked it then pushed it open for all of us with a flourish. The door opened soundlessly, and all of my minions gasped from behind me at the splendor of the interior of the library.
Bright light filtered in through the glass dome and illumined dust motes swirling through the air. Shelves created something like an atrium around the massive tree in the middle of the library, and a few of the branches rustled almost like in greeting. My women and I stepped inside as a group, and a hush fell over my minions as they took everything in. I kept a watchful eye over them, and Morrigan was the first to break from the group as she stepped carefully towards the colossal tree. It called out to her in a way that it hadn’t done with me, and her dark eyes clouded over as she and her two ravens listened closely to something the rest of us couldn’t hear.
Haruhi smiled softly as she folded her hands behind her back and turned towards my three remaining women. Carmedy squealed happily and scurried over to wrap her arms around the shorter feline.
“Haruhi! I missed you so much!” the petite alchemist cried as she struggled to pick up the other cat.
“Stop, you’ll squeeze the life out of her!” Rana cackled as she too came over to embrace my newly added minion.
“Good to see you again, Haruhi.” Annalise smiled as she bowed her head, but the sage shook her head and wrapped her arms around the high queen in a warm embr
ace.
I turned my attention back towards Morrigan and the massive tree. I moved through the aisles and shelves of books towards the elven woman and the two black ravens perched on her shoulders. I’d noticed something peculiar as time passed and I hadn’t mentioned it to the elf yet. When I’d first met them, Morrigan relied heavily on the help of her two bird companions, Fea and Macha. At times, she spoke only with them and excluded herself from all personal interaction. It was warranted given the circumstances that Rana and Annalise found the elf, and I already knew that the elven people weren’t emotional folk who leaned on others for support, hell, Morrigan’s own family and friends had exiled her from their society. However, in the past few weeks, maybe even months, I’d noticed that the elf didn’t speak to her ravens like she once had.
Fea and Macha had saved the pale woman’s life out in the wilderness when she hadn’t known how to provide for herself, and they’d been her only friends when still lived within the High Elven society. Morrigan used to go everywhere with them perched on her shoulders, but now, they often stayed back in the cabins of the ships we stayed in or flew above our heads. It wasn’t that Morrigan abandoned them or didn’t want them there, but it seemed as if both Fea and Macha sensed that the elf didn’t need to rely on them as much as she did before.
Fea, the larger of the two, hopped up from one of the elf’s thin shoulders and balanced on a low-hanging branch. Morrigan held out a hand to Macha who still sat on her right shoulder, but the bird shook its head and cawed softly. The pale woman’s lips pulled up into a smile as she spoke in soft tones in her elven language to the birds, and I hung back for a bit to let them enjoy this private moment.