Annie awoke and immediately shot up, she pulled the covers from the bed roll and saw that she was dressed in a simple kimono, she opened it and saw her abdomen was wrapped on bandages. She re-covered herself and looked to see Mia dressed in a more elegant kimono and sitting next to her bed, hunched over a low table asleep.
“Don’t worry Hall-Chan, you are safe, your friend here stayed with you all night.” A pleasant, feminine voice said.
Annie looked to see a black furred kitsune with white tips and four tails wearing black robes.
“I am Haikata-San, the steward of the Imperial Palace. Emberleaf-Sama and Monroe-Chan are in the gardens, and Kane-Chan is right outside.” The steward said.
Lilith heard her name and slammed the sliding door open and almost tripped on her kimono on the way in. Annie let out a giggle and Lilith quickly recovered with her face red.
“S-Shut up, I’ve never worn something like this and they won’t give me back my jeans!” Lilith stammered.
Annie noticed that Lilith’s hair was in a Japanese style bun with short bangs, and without her dark heavy makeup she could see Lilith’s cute plain face. This made Annie smile and Lilith noticed her friend’s stare.
“W-what?! Stop starring and get better already!” The black haired girl said.
“C-careful Lilith, she needs to rest! So stop yelling!” Mia shouted.
“You’re yelling too!” Lilith replied.
“Hall-Chan has rested enough I think, why don’t you two take her to get some fresh air.” Haikata suggested.
Both girls nodded and helped Annie up and towards the door.
Felicity couldn’t believe where she was, the Kitsune Empire, she was still reeling from the attack last night and was completely mortified at the events. The blonde didn’t know what came over her, Hinata was her ally, she herself was part of the Normal, they fought against werewolves, kitsune, and wizards. Yet the blonde had moved to protect Winery, a werewolf. Winery sensed Felicity’s anxiety and asked her what was wrong.
“It’s nothing…last night was just a lot you know.” Felicity said.
“True, but I get the feeling that there’s something you’re not telling me.” The werewolf princess replied.
“…I-it’s my family I guess you could say…I dunno.” Felicity said.
She didn’t know what to say, she couldn’t tell her that she was also part of the organization that just attacked them and nearly killed Annie. But she didn’t like hiding it from her either.
“I bet your stepdad is going to be pissed that you didn’t come home last night! Daddy’s probably pissed as well, but all I have to do is bat my eyes and give a cute pout and I’m off the hook.” Winery said.
Felicity gave a smile but inside she was dreading how the Boss or Choon Hee would punish her for both not returning after school and disrupting Hinata’s mission. But a part of her was excited to have defied them, she was still unused to this teenage girl angst.
Then Mia’s white cat jumped from one of the Sakura trees and landed in front of the two blondes.
“What’s up cat? You know you can’t use the zen garden as a litter box.” Winery quipped.
“Put a sock in it Fido, I left for a second and now Mia, Annie and that other chick aren’t in their room.” Rexie growled.
“Get lost fleabag, we don’t know, we’ve been out here all morning. They probably went to get air or something.” Felicity said feeling defensive of the other blonde.
“Tsk, don’t get lost In each other’s eyes or you won’t find your way out.” The cat said as it leapt onto the walls.
Both girls blushed and started walking faster.
“Why are we here again? I’m not really a flower girl anyway.” Felicity said awkwardly.
“Yea, I’m not really a fan of pink either, it looks good on you though.” The werewolf said in reference to Felicity’s pink kimono.
The girl blushed and walked slightly faster, her face was getting hot and she needed to get back to the Normal before she got into real trouble. The other blonde followed behind and they both returned to their room, running into the black kitsune from before.
“Emberleaf-Sama, Monroe-Chan. If you’d like to return to the human realm your car has been moved to the front gates, a servant will open a portal to send you home.” Haikata said.
Winery nodded and led Felicity through the imperial palace. Then the two bumped into a human boy, Winery gave an apologetic wave and Felicity’s eyes widened, it was the Catalyst: Darren. She didn’t Ino what to do, she couldn’t attack him or take him into Normal custody, she just stared at him as the two passed.
“Do you know that boy or something?” The werewolf asked.
“Uh—no, it’s just weird seeing another human here.” The blonde lied.
“I guess, I’ve met him before, can’t remember his name though, he’s like some kind of special wizard or something.” The werewolf princess replied.
They arrived at the front gates and got back on Winery’s truck, the kitsune out front then transported them back to the human world where they drove back to the school. Felicity got into her car and the two parted ways, once Winery was gone Felicity leaned against her steering wheel.
“What the fuck am I going to tell the Boss?” The girl mumbled.
“For one, you will no longer be driving yourself to and from school. Also you will be confined to your quarters when not at school for a month. Be thankful you are not sent to re-education, you will learn to be more obedient and follow your curfew.” the Kumiho stated, surprising the blonde from the car window.
Felicity rolled her eyes and moved over to the passenger seat as the Asian woman took the wheel and activated the timeline-transport-engine to return them to their original timeline. From there they returned to the Normal HQ and the girl stomped to her quarters.
When Rexie found Mia and her friends they were crouched near the koi pond. When they saw the familiar Annie spoke first,
“Lilith threw Mia’s sandal in the pond and we can’t get it.” The goth girl said, pointing to the sandal at the bottom of the pond, surrounded by curious fish.
“What is this a middle school field trip?” The cat grumbled.
“I’m not going to get wet, get your own sandal.” Lilith said.
“You threw it, you go get it!” Mia snapped back.
“Why? If you’re hungry go to the kitchens!” Rexie hissed.
“I’m not gonna eat the stupid fish! It got my last cigarette!” Lilith explained.
“Then throw your own shoe or throw yourself in next time!” Rexie said annoyed.
“I forgot my stupid sandals in our room.” Lilith replied with an awkward laugh.
“We don’t have time for this, we should get you girls back home before your parents worry any more than they probably have.” The white cat said.
Mia picked up her cat familiar and sighed,
“Come on, can we at least stay for tea? I didn’t get any while I was unconscious.” Mia wined cutely.