Sentiment

1448 mid-Muromachi Period, Summer, Shanghai

Kintsuke had returned some years ago with an agreeable female for Zheng to breed. It seemed Zheng was taking no chances as he quickly arranged for the two females to settle in separate residencies. Kintsuke was happy to volunteer to leave the castle and move to the manor further inland in the heart of the forest that stretched across most of the island. It felt more like home to her, deep in those trees, and while it soothed her it also made her more homesick. She longed to return to Japan, but she'd not quite completed her task, and so here she remained.

When she'd moved, Zheng sent her with a small detail of servants for her convenience, and Kintsuke was surprised to find that Xia Li had chosen to come along as well. She'd always thought Xia Li resented having to wait on Kintsuke hand and foot, but either she had been wrong, or Xia Li was simply dedicated. Whichever way, it warmed Kintsuke's heart to have the familiar woman near.

As the years rolled by, Kintsuke continued to strengthen her flames. The blue still caused her some trouble here and there, but most of her focus now was on improving her ability to summon each hue as need be in the heat of battle. It required a level of focus and inner tranquility she currently lacked but was certain she only needed practice to attain.

She also resumed studying the intricate and sometimes ambiguous workings of the demon aristocracy. It was a far less rigid system than Kintsuke had originally thought, fluid and practical, with only one solid truth understood by all: the strong and capable ruled. There was a sort of honor system, similar to what the humans had, based of course on demon values, and she noticed there wasn't a terrible amount of back-stabbing outside of the tribes that specialized in deceptions; again, quite unlike the humans.

There was also far less to mating than she had originally thought. While humans married for company, territory, power, and alliances, demons were more concerned with the survivability and potential of their young. Exactly which traits were found favorable depended on the tribe in question, and this gave Kintsuke hope that perhaps, one day, she truly would be able to secure for herself a male of some significance, despite the state her blood.

She found that particular subject was on her mind more often now, especially since Zheng had tasked her with the care of the new pups as they each were born and grew old enough to leave their mother. There were five of them before Zheng finally gave his consort an extended rest, often visiting the manor to check on the progress of his children.

Kintsuke couldn't quite understand it, though. She knew why the pups had to be removed from the female as soon as possible to allow for continued breeding, but why give them to Kintsuke to care for? She was no wet nurse and was far from the mothering type. In fact, she didn't even really like children, and at first, she resented Zheng for plopping the younglings in her lap like this. As they grew, though, chasing across the courtyard after her flowing silks or grabbing for her hands through the trailing sleeves of her hanfu as they followed her down the halls, seeking protection and permission from the oldest and strongest among them, she found herself beginning to soften.

They looked up to her with wonder and trust in their eyes, ignorant to the evils outside their home and the truth of what she was. 'Sister Kiki' they called her, unable to pronounce her full name properly. The nickname had irked her at first, but she'd grown used to it. She was becoming attached, and she soon found herself no longer simply watching over them, but being an active part of their everyday lives.

When they fell and hurt themselves, she told them to get up and make it heal. When they squabbled, she enforced the rules of honor and etiquette, strongly counseling them to either accept what was, or to find a way to change it. When they began sparking flames of their own, she encouraged their experimentation and even let them play with her own; very carefully, of course. She taught them all she knew about the ways of demons and humans, of language and decorum battle, and eventually found herself having to answer one of the questions she knew they would ask one day.

"Sister Kiki, if we're family, then why do you look different?"

She smiled slightly at them, her ears flattening to hide under her hair in embarrassment.

"Well, I was just born this way. Sometimes even siblings from the same parents can come out looking different from each other, see?"

She pointed out the varying traits between even just the small group of them. Thankfully, they'd been satisfied by that.

She frowned as she watched them romp through the courtyard again afterward; knowing that one day, soon, the simple answer she'd given wouldn't be enough for them. The thought of how they would react was like a dagger in her heart…but she couldn't bear to distance herself from what was the closest thing to a real family she'd ever had. She felt a stirring deep inside, and slowly she found that she was beginning to desire this quiet simple life with pups around her feet.