Chapter 6: Confession

"Where am I? What happened?" I asked out loud while looking at my surroundings; however, all I could see was white. I couldn't even tell if what I was standing on was actually a floor.

"You are in my domain outside of the real world," a woman responded before appearing in front of me.

The woman that appeared looked just like me, except slightly more mature. I felt like I was in a mirror that showed a future version of myself, the only real difference is that this version had nine tails, where I only had 1.

"Are you the Fox Goddess?" I asked.

"I have been called that, certainly, but that feels too stiff coming from my granddaughter. Just call me Nana." My grandmother laughed and gently patted my head while responding.

"Okay, Nana. May I ask what happened when I passed out, and why am I here? I didn't die, right?" I asked somewhat scared of the answer.

"Haha, heavens no, you didn't die; I just pulled your consciousness over here so that I could chat with you and maybe help you. However, now that I think about it, maybe I should phrase it differently; it is more like you can't die." Nana replied in a nonchalant manner.

"I can't die?" I asked feeling completely shocked and confused. "Doesn't that mean I will eventually be alone, without my family, without Eri by my side?" I asked while shaking at the very thought of being alone.

"Does being alone scare you?" Nana asked with an understanding expression.

"Of course, I don't ever want to feel alone again." I answered honestly, thinking back to the lonely apartment that I lived in.

"Good, hold onto that feeling. I know what it is like to lose everyone you loved, so please trust me when I tell you this; there is a way for you to share your immortality with others." Nana said with a sad expression holding years of loneliness.

"I trust you, and I will do anything as long as it means I can always be with Eri." I replied with conviction in my voice.

"You really do love that girl a lot, don't you?" Nana asked with a slight chuckle.

"Of course, I love her more than anything. I don't know what I would do without her by my side." I replied while thinking about my memories with Eri. I couldn't possibly imagine a future without her.

"You are willing to do anything for her to remain by your side forever, even if what you will have to do might make her sad?" Nana asked with a stern voice.

"I would discuss what I will have to do with her honestly and ask her what she would want to do, even if her answer will make me sad eventually. I would rather put her happiness before my own." I answered honestly. I wouldn't do something that could potentially hurt her, by asking first even if that meant we couldn't be together forever, and I would have to be alone.

"Good answer, my dear granddaughter, if you would have just said you would do it without considering your partner's feelings, I would have sent you back without telling you anything." Nana responded with a proud smile.

"So, I passed your test?" I asked.

"Yes, you did. Now as for the method to share your immortality with your loved one. It is something that you will need to talk to her about first."

"I promise I will, I won't do anything without her permission." I replied with a resolute tone.

"You will have to find and take another lover. As it stands, if you tried to share your life force with Eri, it would have the opposite effect and overwhelm her soul and kill her. You have to find someone that you can love just as much as Eri and share your life force with both of them. Effectively making them both immortal, all three of your life forces will be in sync with one another continually feeding each other the life force that is needed to stay immortal." Nana explained in a serious voice.

"I understand, so it's kind of like a circle, where our life force will continually go from one person to another when needed?" I asked making sure I understood properly.

"That's correct." Nana replied.

"Finding someone, I can love just as much as Eri, that is certainly something that might make Eri sad." I replied.

"However, you know, I watched as that girl fretted and cried over you when you collapsed. I can see she loves you just as much as you do her. She hasn't left your side since then. I have a feeling everything will work out as long as you are honest with her." Nana explained with warm eyes.

"Is her health okay?" I ask feeling worried about Eri.

"Haha, you have been sleeping for the past 2 days, and you're worried about another person. You certainly are wonderful; I am glad that I got to chat with you." Nana said while laughing.

"Thank you, Nana, I'm glad I got to talk with you too. Can you send me back soon? I don't want Eri making herself sick." I spoke with a smile.

"Of course, but first come closer; I will tell you how to share your life force when it becomes time."

After I got closer, she told me, "There are two methods for sharing your life force with someone, the first one is temporary and can be used at any time; it is good for when the other person is sick or injured. It can be performed by kissing the other person, and for the 2nd, it is permanent and can only be used when you are older and find your second lover..." She then whispered in my ear the 2nd method for sharing life force, which caused me to turn bright red and ask, "How does that work if we are all girls, I have no interest in men after all?"

"Haha, at least you're honest. Honey, you are currently talking to your great-great-grandmother who is a goddess and looks just a couple of years older than you. Those sorts of things don't matter, especially for you; you will eventually be even more amazing and powerful than me. Now let's get you home." Nana laughed before giving me a hug goodbye.

Before she sent me back home, I asked, "By the way, do you know why I collapsed and why I was sealed?

"Oh, the reason you collapsed was because your powers finally appeared, and your body, which was already stressed from all that has happened, became overwhelmed by the immense amount of life force that entered it. Don't worry though your body is fine now but has 2 more tails now. As for why you were sealed, I believe that is something your mother should tell you. Don't fret though; you should be getting a surprise visitor soon." Nana answered.

Before I could ask what she meant my consciousness faded, and the white room disappeared. In the next moment, I woke up and realized I was lying in my room. When I looked around, I noticed Eri, holding my hand asleep leaning on the bed. A soft smile formed on my lips, seeing her beauty up close.

When I sat up in the bed, I accidentally woke Eri up. "Good morning, Eri." I state with a complicated smile.

"Hina-sama!" Eri immediately hugged me, crying tears of joy and sadness.

"There, there, it is just us right now; cry as much as you want." I say while gently rubbing Eri's back until she calmed down.

After she stopped crying, Eri said, "I was so scared, Hina-sama, you collapsed out nowhere and have been asleep for the past two days."

"I'm sorry, Eri. I know why I collapsed, and why I didn't wake up until now, but there is something I have to tell you first, but here is not the place. Can we go to the forest again?" I ask.

"I don't thin..." Eri was about to tell me no until she saw the seriousness in my expression.

"Please, Eri." I respond.

"Very well, but you have to tell me if you feel sick at all. Deal?" Eri gave in and asked.

"Deal." I replied and smiled.

After that Eri helped me get dressed and noticed I now had three tails. I told her I would explain everything when we got to the forest. I know I could have talked to her about it here, but it didn't feel right.

We soon left and made our way to our spot; Eri supported me the whole way and when we arrived. I told her everything about meeting Nana, about how I am immortal, about how I could share my life force with her, and of course about the fact that I would have to find a second lover in order to do so.

"I will be honest, I don't like the idea of sharing you with someone else, but if it meant I could stand by your side forever I will accept it, I don't ever want to be apart from you again, and I don't want you to ever feel alone again." Eri answered honestly.

"Thank you, I feel the same. I just want you to be happy. With that said, the main reason I wanted to come to the forest was not to tell you all this, but for another even more important reason." I explained while grabbing Eri's hands in mine.

I took a deep breath and looked up to look Eri in the eyes, "Eri, I love you, I love your smile, I love how you are protective over me, I love your eyes, I love how loyal you are, I love how kind and generous you are, I have loved you since we were kids, I knew from the beginning that we were meant to be together, and I can't even explain how happy I was when it was you who I saw first after regaining my memories. Will you be with me from now on and forever?" I ask tears flowing down my eyes.

"Of course I will, I love you too, I love how cute you are, I love your fluffy ears and tails, I love how pure and kind you are, I love your spoiled side, and your mature side. Please don't ever change; just please remain as yourself, remain your childish, playful, spoiled, mischievous self. I love everything about you as well." Eri who was also shedding tears replied before pulling me in close and kissing me.

I felt an amazing warmth and light happy feeling from our kiss. After we separated, I found my longing for more affection; I wrapped myself around her arm and started purring nonstop. She then escorted me back to our home saying we shouldn't stay out too long, however I refused to let go of her arm; I didn't want there to be any distance between us at all. Before we stepped inside, I looked up at Eri and said, "When we are alone or at school, just call me Hina."

"As you wish, Hina-sa...Hina." Eri replied with a slight blush. Which caused me to cling to her even more.

"Eri is so cute when she is shy." I purred and giggled.

As we walked into our home, we caught the sight of Seba standing in front of the door, as if he knew exactly when we would arrive.

"Welcome back, Ojou-sama, I'm glad you are feeling better." Sebas spoke with a gentle tone in his voice.

"We're home." I answered; however, I felt like I could feel Eri shaking in fear in my arms.

"Ojou-sama, when I saw you were awake, I had the chef make you a snack. I'm sure you're hungry after being asleep for the last two days," Sebas replied with a smile of relief as he looked at me. However, he then glanced at Eri, seemingly emphasizing the fact that I had been asleep for two days. It appeared that he had an angry look in his eye, though I couldn't fully believe it was really that, as I hadn't ever seen Sebas angry.

"Yay, thank you, Grandpa Sebas," I exclaimed, running to Sebas for a hug. I added, "I'm sorry for worrying you."

"It's okay, Ojou-sama; please go eat while it's still warm. Eri and I will meet you there after we talk; we seem to have many things to discuss," Sebas replied with a gentle smile.

With his response, my three tails started swaying happily, and I rushed to the dining room. But before I disappeared, I turned back and said, "Please hurry; I don't know if I will be able to save you any snacks if you take too long. I love you, Eri." Then, I giggled and ran to the dining room, feeling as though I could hear Eri's playful response.

"Don't give me that jealous look, you doting old man!"