Ayase visits

*Slam* Shutting the door, I pretended whoever was behind did not exist. I was not in the mood to deal with them and there was no reason for them to be here. 

"Now that isn't how you treat a lovely lady, is it?" Right as I turned around, somehow they got inside the house and behind me. It shocked me at first, but then I saw the councils sigil hanging off her hip, which explained everything. 

"Ayase, what are you doing here?" The last time I saw her was a few hundred years ago when I used to live in the Highlands… and dated her. However, I left the Highlands, and so we could no longer stay together.

"Just here to say hi to an old friend~, you could say." Ayase waved at me and purposefully let her kimono slightly come undone, showing off some cleavage. 

"Go sit down." Walking up to Ayase, I fixed her kimono and turned her towards the living room. I wanted her to leave, but there was nothing I could realistically do.

"Okay~." With a smile, Ayase skipped over to the coffee table and sat down on one of the cushions. While she got comfortable, I quickly walked over to the kitchen to prepare her some tea. 

*

<5 minutes later> 

"Hmm~ hm~." 

Walking back to the living room with two cups of tea and the pot, I set them down on the table and took a seat opposite Ayase. 

"So tell me, why are you really here?" She was part of the council, so she definitely isn't here because she misses me. If anything, I'm surprised she is part of the council now, as she had no interest in it before, despite being the only heir to the love god. 

"Jeez you really haven't changed, always straight to the point. Could at least have a little fun, hmph." Ayase pouted while drinking her tea, but her expression quickly changed to delight. 

"You still remember my favourite~, how sweet of you." Realising it was her favourite tea, she skulled it down and quickly poured herself some more. 

"So?" I was hoping my tea bribe and remembering what her favourite tea was were enough to get answers out of her. 

"Fine, I am here because we detected the use of divine magic and since I know you live in this area I decided to investigate." Elaborating on why she was here, it made sense, but also confirmed my fears when I fought Sebath. 

"Seems like someone knows about that." Ayase leant in close over the table, staring directly into my eyes. 

"Tch, forgot you can sense emotions now that you've inherited the god's title. You would think being the love god just meant you loved sex." I rolled my eyes as part of the powers she gained when getting divinity was sensing other people's emotions. 

This made her mother quite protective when meeting new people, just to make sure they were not trying to use Ayase. However, that didn't stop Ayase from embracing a certain side of her. 

"Come on, you know how wrong that is. I may like to indulge, but its that burst of emotion during the moment that feels so good. I'd say its better than drugs when I make my maids roll their eyes back and sense the waves of emotions." Ayase crossed her arms proudly, thinking she proved me wrong but only making her case worse. 

"So you are a slut? Got it." I rolled my eyes as she also hadn't changed one bit. 

"Oi, you know better than anyone else I can't help it! Don't you remember all the times we had to sneak away in public?" Ayase slammed her hands down on the table, pouting once again at my comment. 

'Still has her cute side.' I completely ignored what she just said and looked away, trying not to think about it. 

"Grrr, anyway, back on topic, was it you? Did you manage to complete Sakura's research?" I raised an eyebrow, as I didn't know that Ayase knew that I continued working on it. 

"What do you know about it?" Glaring at Ayase for answers, it looked like she was hesitant to speak. My guess is that because she is on the council, she doesn't want to reveal anything just in case she gets into trouble. 

It was really a shame, as I despise what they stand for and seeing Ayase as one of them made me not trust her. It may feel friendly right now, but underneath, we were two snakes waiting to strike. 

"Don't play dumb, the council knows all about her research and you being her sister living right where she did her research points to you achieving divine magic… You know it isn't so bad in the council that you make out to be." Ayase dropped her tone, knowing my disdain for the council. 

"Why does it matter? They killed my sister because they were afraid. What makes you think I will ever help them?" Although it wasn't the council themselves that killed Sakura, they were the masterminds behind it, and I will never forgive them for that. 

"Argh, this is why I hate being the newcomer. Look, do you want me to tell you the truth? In return, I want you to tell me the source of the divine magic and I promise I won't report back to the council." Ayase suddenly became fidgety, constantly looking around, making sure no one was listening in. 

Hearing there was more to the story, my interest peaked, but of course there needed to be an exchange. However, I found it odd that she promised she wouldn't report it back. It seems the council is much more divided than I initially thought. 

"Spirit contract?" There was no way I was going to do this based on a promise, so I expected a contract to be formed in order to keep her mouth shut. 

"Yeah, I'm already on it." Ayase waved her fingers around before a pink light forming letter appeared in front of me. It was detailed that she would not tell anyone about the information I disclose and in return, she will be 100% honest with her words. 

I was surprised to see there were no loopholes, and Ayase was being genuine. I couldn't think of a reason as to why she is being this generous, but then again, it isn't like we are enemies. 

"Are you sure? This really isn't in your favour." It made me make sure she was okay with a spirit contract as if any of the conditions are broken, then it will result in the person's death unless specified. Its the highest form of contract and is used a lot in arranged marriages to ensure an eternal partnership.

It would be something Anna will be signing if she ends up marrying into that kitsune family. 

"Please, I know what I'm doing. As long as no one finds out, then there aren't any issues." Ayase smirked at me, waiting for me to sign the contract. With no reason to decline, I sign it and the effects are put in place.

"Now before I tell you the truth, mind telling me the presence I feel in the other room?" Ayase had picked up on Ayame's magic, which I tried to mask with my own, but it seems she still caught on. 

*Sigh* "Thats my daughter." I stared at Ayase, waiting for her reaction, as I vividly remembered telling her I never wanted kids. 

"WHAT!?!?! WITH WHO AND WHEN!?!" Slamming the table and standing up, she screamed her reaction while looking at me in disbelief. 

"HAHAHA! Never thought I would have one, did you?" Playing a bit more to tease Ayase, I saw her get a bit angry and grit her teeth. 

"Tell me who so I can murder them!" Ayase's eyes glowed pink and I felt a surge of magic swirling around her. 

"Calm down, I'm only kidding. She is my adopted daughter that I've been taking care of since she was a child." Not wanting my house to get destroyed, I dropped the act and told the truth. It worked, as hearing that they were adopted instantly calmed her down and sat back down on her cushion. 

"I see." Picking up her cup she downed another tea. 

"Her name is Ayame and she isn't well at the moment, so I prefer if you kept your voice down." I doubted Ayame would wake up, as she was completely mentally exhausted from all the stress and getting knocked out. 

"Name her after me or something?" Ayase smirked as their names were almost the same, but that was something I only just realised. 

"As if, I would rather not think of you every time I say her name." It would be quite awkward and it is not a thought I want to have. 

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say." Ayase rolled her eyes and probably will always think I named Ayame after her, even though I wasn't even the one who named her. 

"Anyway, enough bickering, I want to know the truth about Sakura." 

**

"Urgh who the hell is yelling?"