Chapter 81 – Making it Back

Needing a distraction and not wanting to use more mana I hope my white ears get her to pause, just for a moment.

I watch her swing the silly sword around, taunting me to do something and get my head cut off—a deranged smile on the woman's face, looking at her helpless prey.

"You're supposed to attack me," she lets out with a small shake of her head. She gives one more test swing before she sends out her strike. I let my true form out and struck out myself.

"SIS! WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING!" She screams out, her sword burying into the wall behind me. I see her white ears come out as well, but my sword finds her side. But her armor proved my last attack to be useless.

"Why are you here? Aren't you all with mom?" I let out. The pain and surprise hit me at once.

"You aren't the only one allowed outside. Mom doesn't like my research, so I went out and found the guild is willing to give me whatever I ask for if I do a few things for them. Now why the fuck are you in here trying to get yourself killed!" she demands.

"I already told you. Guild tried to kill some friends of mine. Looking for who ordered it," I say, fighting to stay awake. "Little healing, sis?"

"You think I'm going to give you a potion after the mess you made here? Poof out your own, and I'll shove it down your stupid throat." I bring one out for her, and it goes as she told me. The bottle forced as far down my throat as it'll let it and poured in with out a care for her little sister.

"Hmph, if you did a better job scouting, you would've found out about me and saved us a lot of time and killing. This is going to be a mess, and I'm going to have to cover for your dumbass. Now, give me a second. I'm going to finish healing the two girls back there, and then we can talk about your problem."

"Ok," I say to no one. The potion had just enough to keep me from dying; the pain is still there and growing as I'm no longer fighting. I waited for my sister, the third oldest, right in the middle, with me being the last from the Queen.

"I'm back. I'll get the information, so just give me the names and I'll send you out of here. Oh, when I send you out of here, remember you'd be dead if I didn't feel like playing with you. Isn't Nakuma with you? You don't have space magic," she says, poofing back to me.

"Mai and Alzi. She was. But, I..." Why did she ask a question and then leave? Talking isn't easy for me here.

"Here's the damn contracts. They're already marked as failed, so they should be safe now. Nakuma?"

"Yes, as I was saying. We got into a fight, and she ran. I couldn't find her, didn't want to waste the work we did so I did the heist and failed."

"She'll come back; just be nice to her. She's had it rough for these past decades. You're the only thing that really drives her to do anything. I know she's a bit of a pain, but I think you can get her in line. Just do it gently. Hate to see our subjects hurting like that."

"She's..."

"Yes, I know. She wasn't nice to you, but she's a lot better now, so suck it up. If you didn't spend eighty years messing around you wouldn't be in this mess. Now, goodbye, I've got cleaning to do, and you being here makes that a lot harder."

With a snap, I'm back in my room in the brothel. Well, Alzi is going to be pissed, but I need the healing.

I move the papers into my ring, use the last of my mana to hide again and head down to the masseuse room to wait for Alzi.

*** Yuki's Sister ***

What a fucking mess. Those two girls were basically dead when I got to them. I thought I did a better job patching them up before, but it seems I may have underestimated what little sis could do. What a nasty poison she used there. I'll have to say I disintegrated the intruder with some poison so they don't go looking for her.

Just how many guards did she poison? And that stone that vibrated when Audrey Fulburne had to leave? Were they working together? I'll need to check that out and possibly cover for her. Yuki will owe me for the lost few days here. I moved out to stop having so many interruptions, and then she came storming in here like she could actually do this alone.

"Nakuma, you still around?"

"Yes, Your Highness,"

"Go back to Yuki tomorrow. Try to keep her from doing stupid stuff like this again. She's not good at long fights. She's spent too much time dancing in that whorehouse. Let her start slow or do single assassinations; I don't want to find out she got killed. Mother will call me back and start a stupid war over it."

"As you command your highness."

"You follow Yuki. This is an ask as a friend and someone worried about your love. She's stressed out right now. Don't take her yelling too seriously."

"Thank you, Princess Tanatsu."

Now, to report to the lazy leadership. They should've known already who it was. Anyone with half a brain should be able to pull Yuki's name as the culprit, and now I'm going to have to convince them it was someone else and I killed them. Maybe I can just lie and say you shouldn't stir shit up with a princess? Yes, that'll be a lot easier.

I turn my disguise back on and teleport into their stupid situation room as if they had a force that needed this room. Their only choice was to ask me to do something about the situation. You don't need a room to decide that.

"You all are stupid. You attacked friends of a princess not once but twice." I say to the three women hiding in here.

"What do you mean?" the old elf asks. Her hair has long since turned grey.

"Yuki is the friend of two people you tried to assassinate. Close friends, likely sharing a bed kind of friends. Yuki, the youngest..."

"Yes, yes, we know who Yuki is. Who did we attack?" the youngest of the group, a dumb little dwarf.

"Two brothel workers. Alzi and Mai. Alzi, I kind of get with a princess ordering the attack, but honestly, you almost started a war between two countries. If this is the shit you all are going to be doing, then I'm leaving."

"Why are two brothel workers fucking a princess?" the dwarf asks.

"Long story, I don't feel like going into it. Train your damn assassins to do some research before killing their targets. I'm not cleaning something up like this again. I don't want to have a record of nearly killing a princess. They don't normally live long."

"You're sure it was..." the elf asks.

"Yes, she let me see her tails. Nine snow-white tails and two fluffy ears. No illusion artifact. Give this one up. You hurt her, and she'll go crying to Mommy and have us all killed and maybe even have our great Queen pay her for the trouble. The dead guards are due to your stupid systems and terrible research. It shouldn't be this hard to figure out who did it. Yuki is famous for working in that brothel and the Crazy Kitsune is in love with her. Everything fits way too easily. Now, goodbye, this has taken enough of my time."

*** Alzi, back at the brothel ***

Yuki better be waiting for me in the backroom. Not that there's anything I can do if she isn't. Mai is busy with three women, so she can't even try to ask the Countess for help. All I can do is wait.

Yuki said she had hired a guard to be her slave for a year, so she should be fine. The guard can help her a lot, right? Oh, just enter the room, you stupid dragon. Yuki will be there smiling, saying it was easy.

I push open the door and find a hurt Yuki yet again. Resting on the massage table.

"Yuki! I told you not to go by yourself. You should've figured it out with Nakuma or just given up. I'm a slave; why would I be below killing for the group? If revenge was so important I can handle being with the Duchess for a few months. I'm sure she would let Mother visit me; she seemed nice. Instead, here you are, hurt again! I don't want to lose you, Yuki! I can take a few months of you being gone, but I won't take the rest of my life. Stop coming home hurt!" I cry out at the hurt kitsune. Her white fur was stained red from her blood. Clothing ripped and burnt.

"I'm sorry. You were right. I got the information, but I was in over my head. I know, and I'm sorry. They just couldn't get away with any of it. I wanted both; the Duchess wouldn't have gotten them anyway. The one behind your assassination attempt was a princess. It'll take a bit to get her, but I promise we will. Mai's is a possibility soon. Just a normal noble house we can clear out. Now, I promise I won't get hurt for a long time. So please heal me, Alzi. I love you, and I'm in a lot of pain," she says, too tired to raise her head and look at me. Or too ashamed.

"Yes, Yuki. Just stop scaring me. Pregnant women can't take all this excitement and keep it together. Some say it can hurt the babies," I say, my tears start streaming down as I make my way over to my love. I see her cheeks stained from past tears, new ones forming. "I'm sorry this will hurt again."

"I know Alzi. Soon, it won't."