"You didn't need to come with me, Nurse Manami," Tsukuyomi said softly as the plane came in for a landing on Heiya island as he looked over to the still Human nurse that sat down beside him.
He felt strong and rejuvenated from his own Human form as he'd been recovering from years of dealing with radiation that went all the way back to the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki when he was young. The fact that he hadn't died from that had been a miracle, but he had survived. He'd had to deal with some other issues that had then left him weak and in the care of government because of the death of his family in the two atomic bomb strikes in World War Two and then the deformities and weaknesses he'd had from the radiation as well. It was only when Animalia came about that the option for heal from the poisoning that had left him battling cancer for years. It took him some time to get things in order, but he managed and saw it as an option to actually play to a certain element of his how Shinto beliefs that he had stuck firm to for years. He had become a black furred Wolf Animalian and sought to join with with a white furred female Wolf Animalian on Heiya Animalian, but he ran into one small hiccup.
The thing that had got in the way was one of the nurses that had always been by his side of late. Her name was Manami and she had always been close to him at the senior center and nursing home that he'd been in of late. She taught him things over the past few years and even taught him about Animalia from the news and it was from her that he'd learned about the colonies Animalia had set up, one was scheduled in Tokyo as they were essentially taking down a couple of apartment buildings in Tokyo and rebuilding them so that they could house some of the larger Animalians there as need be while housing Humans there as well. It was something that was taking time because not all the people that were there intended to convert and because of some of the sizes of some that did required a certain amount of reconstruction that would take time. Most of the Animalians that did intend to live in the Tokyo colony were presently on Heiya Island, which would include Tsukuyomi, as a result of all of that.
Tsukuyomi expected to leave Nurse Manami behind because of her responsibilities at the center she worked at, but he soon found something that he didn't expect after his transformation. While he was found to have a very mild case of Regressive Hypersexuality Syndrome, it wasn't as much of a problem as Horizon had warned him of, because it turned out that Nurse Manami had come to love him over the years, and despite being only in her late twenties or early thirties, she'd stayed close to Tsukuyomi. Thus when he regained his youth as an Animalian, she gained the confidence to actually admit her attraction. This then lead to a few bouts of very passionate sex at her apartment before the flight from Nagasaki to Heiya Island. Manami was only still human because she wasn't quite sure on what kind of Wolf she wanted to be. She did prefer the Gray Wolf as a species, the genetic ancestor of the modern Dog, but she wasn't sure if she wanted a solid coloration,gray, black or white, a brown/gray coloration, or a gray/white combination. She didn't want to clash with either Tsukuyomi or with Ami. That left her moving back and forth between options beyond the end decision that she wanted Tsukuyomi... and at one point even gave a claim that she'd fight Ami for him.
"Of course I did," Manami answered and held up Tsukuyomi's paw like hand and kissed the back of it, "I have to make sure that this Ami knows YOU'RE spoken for. And don't give me all the "brother/sister" stuff. That's old myth and legend. You and I both know that neither of you are related."
Tsukuyomi gave a weak smile, as he knew he wasn't related by blood to Ami, the white Wolf Animalian that essentially served as Heiya Island's leader. There had been some attempts to look into Ami's past from what was published and who her family was, and it was more than enough for Tsukuyomi to know that they were not even distantly related. They were not related at all, but to a greater extent, he felt a personal bond with Manami that he likely wouldn't have with Ami, who he had not met before.
"And you doubt my love for you?" Tsukuyomi teased, "after all our time together?"
"I trust you," Manami answered as the plane docked at the terminal, "I do not necessarily trust her."
"I'm sure she will be polite," Tsukuyomi assured her once it was clear for them to stand up, "and I will tell her that you have already made your declarations of love... Something, I must say I did not expect... but you have been kind, and I love you too. How can I not love someone who had such a bond to me before I was converted."
Manami smiled as they walked along up the aisle on the plane. She held on to his furry arm with a great deal of tenderness and leaned against him, and this was something that had come about since finding out that the nurse in charge of his care before his conversion actually had feelings for him. Now with his youth restored, that was an option and one he was actually looking forward to. He did with to meet Ami, but it was Manami that he loved. The two came along through the gates and went through the appropriate medical checks before getting clearances that they were Covid free. As they finished the last round of checks, they came across a female Wolf Animalian waiting for them near the baggage claim. She had white fur with brush marks painted into them in places and had a few councilors with her. This perked Tsukuyomi's ears up at the sight of Ami and her councilors.
"Welcome to Heiya Island, Tsukuyomi," Ami spoke noting the white brush strokes painted into Tsukuyomi's black fur, "it is an honor that you would come to Heiya Island..."
"Well, I had seen reports on the news... and was very curious," Tsukuyomi answered, "on one who would essentially take the name of Amaterasu."
"Some of that was to play to some Japanese spiritual traditions," Ami said slowly, "much of the rest was to help build bridges between Animalia, Japan, and even China... potentially even Korea, if everyone can agree to behave themselves. And this has included some... "blending" of some traditions... given that our island's best known residents are Chinese and have taken some inspiration from American animated movies on Kung-Fu..."
"Yes... I have been told much about how the world has changed from when I was a baby," Tsukuyomi nodded and then ushered Manami forward, "and this is my bond-mate, Minahaze, Manami."
Ami bowed to Manami in respect for Tsukuyomi using Manami's family name first. Manami bowed back, though she kept one eye on the White Wolf Animalian.
"Welcome to Heiya Island, Minahaze, Manami," Ami spoke politely, "and I will congratulate you on picking an extraordinary mate. I wish you a long life and long happiness with each other."
"Thank you," Manami said slowly and with a bit of surprise, "I..."
"You expected me to have romantic interest in Tsukuyomi because he is a male Wolf and I am female," Ami finished, "I suppose that would make some sense... He is very handsome, we are not blood relations, and I would love to have a male like that of my own... But this is our first meeting. It would be improper to impose on anyone at this time. Particularly when we've also had our own areas of work to focus on..."
Manami took some relief at that, as it put her fears to rest. Though the end of Ami's comment further peaked her curiosity. She knew that Interpol had busted up a massive prostitution, smuggling, and sex-trade operation earlier in the summer and that a number of the victims were presently on Heiya Island undergoing various forms of therapy to help them put all that behind them and restore their freedom. A few had to be converted into Animalians because of Covid issues that the Heiya Island staff had wanted to avoid, but a lot of that was a bit sketchy. Being as it was now early August, Manami had thought a lot of that work would have been finished by now.
"I would have thought all the family members from the people you rescued would have been found by now," Manami said slowly.
"Most have been... but between Covid and psychological concerns, most are still here while we're trying to help them," Ami answered, "and in some cases... people have even come in to help."
"Well... we'll be here until the Animalian designed apartments are ready in Tokyo," Tsukuyomi spoke, "and probably for Manami's eventual conversion. So... until then... we would be happy to help and learn along the way. As "brothers" and "sisters" should..."
"Even if we aren't actually related and simply happen to have the names or related deities?" Ami asked, to which Tsukuyomi smiled and nodded.